Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 6, 1 June 2021 — Editor's Note [ARTICLE]

Editor's Note

Caring for our iwi kūpuna is an important kuleana for Native Hawaiians. In recognition of this, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has cautiously supported past proposals to house certain historic preservation functions within the agency. However, noted concerns include the need to use a substantial amount of Native Hawaiian trust funds to carry out a state responsibility that requires eonsiderable staff time, expertise, and resources not currently available to the agency; the need to appropriately tailor the scope of OHA's jurisdiction, given that burial and historic preservation laws also cover non-Hawaiian burials and historic sites; and the need to give OHAclearsite inspection and enforcement authorities, as well as the ability to independently administer and uphold protections for iwi kūpuna and associated artifacts and sites.