Mana`o Sought for Federal Protocol for Burials and Cultural Items

Department of the Interior News Release

The U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Native Hawaiian Relations, will conduct a community consultation meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 14 at the Kulana `Oiwi OHA/DHHL Conference Room, regarding its draft Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Consultation Protocol. NAGPRA requires consultation with Native Hawaiians in order to address the appropriate handling and disposition of iwi kupuna, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony located on federal lands and Hawaiian home lands.

The NAGPRA Consultation Protocol will guide the bureaus and agencies within the U.S. Department of the Interior, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. National Park Service, and U.S. Geological Survey, in their conduct of consultation pursuant to NAGPRA in Hawaii. Each meeting will begin with a 20-minute overview of NAGPRA.

The meeting is free and open to the public.

The Office of Native Hawaiian Relations will continue to receive feedback, comments, and suggestions through mid-January 2011 and anticipates noticing a formal 60-day comment period with a revised Draft NAGPRA Consultation Protocol in early February 2011.

For more information, please contact Lisa C. Oshiro in the Honolulu office of the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations by phone at (808) 792-9555 or via e-mail to lisa_oshiro@ios.doi.gov