Plan to build Kauai home over native burials raises legal issues

A Kaua'i landowner's decision to proceed with building a house on top of ancient Native Hawaiian burials calls into question the authority of the state to assure appropriate handling of such burials.

Not since the Honokahua cemetery was unearthed on Maui in 1987 has there been such concern about the legal protection of iwi kupuna, or ancestral bones, Native Hawaiian rights advocates say.