A coalition of kānaka maoli advocacy groups is turning up the heat on state regulators, filing a formal petition Friday that pushes for a top-to-bottom rewrite of how ancestral burials and related historic properties on Maui are identified, reported and handled. The petitioners argue that the current system leaves room for desecration and undercounting of disturbed iwi, particularly across central Maui's sandhills and parts of South Maui, and say clearer standards are needed for practitioners, landowners and agencies.
The coalition, made up of Mālama Kakanilua, Hoʻoponopono O Mākena and the Pele Defense Fund, submitted its petitions to the State Board of Land and Natural Resources and the State Historic Preservation Division, with advocate Clare Apana listed as the filer, according to Maui Now. The filing asks those agencies to amend and repeal specific administrative rules so they "ensure the orderly and transparent protection of iwi kūpuna and historic properties," and to spell out who is responsible for what when land is disturbed.
Groups' history in local cases
These same organizations have spent years inserting themselves into development permitting and related court fights involving South Maui projects, including disputes over the Grand Wailea resort, where intervenor briefs and county filings lay out efforts to account for hundreds of disturbed remains. According to Maui County filings, the petitioners have repeatedly urged local and state decision-makers to require broader inventories, stronger burial preserves and more meaningful consultation with lineal descendants.
What the petition asks state to change
The petitioners say the existing administrative rules give consultants too much leeway and offer the public too little visibility into how burial discoveries are reported and who is notified. On paper, the State Historic Preservation Division describes a detailed intake, determination and burial-council process that governs how burials are treated. Those same procedures are now in the petitioners' crosshairs, as they seek clearer and enforceable language in the regulations; see the State Historic Preservation Division for the current framework.
Where this matters
The petition specifically calls out the central Maui sandhills and parts of South Maui as areas where burials are especially vulnerable to improper disturbance, pointing to earlier successful legal challenges to excavation permits as evidence that the present system is falling short in protecting iwi. These concerns, along with the push for broader rule changes, are laid out in the petition, according to Maui Now.
Legal context
The filing seeks both amendments and repeals of administrative rules that operate under Hawaiʻi's historic-preservation statutes and the Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules that govern burial sites. Maui County court documents and the petitioners' briefs cite HRS Chapter 6E and related administrative provisions to argue that agencies need to do more to uphold statutory protections and ensure meaningful consultation with descendants.
What's next
The petitions now sit with the Land Board and SHPD, which have options: open a rulemaking docket, ask for additional information or decline to move forward. Any formal rulemaking process would trigger public notice and a chance for public comment. The petitioners say they are aiming for rules that prevent future desecrations and foster better collaboration between descendants, cultural practitioners and permitting agencies. For now, the timing is in the hands of state regulators and the administrative process set out by the State Historic Preservation Division.
