HI HR181

Requests the Department of Land and Natural Resources to convene a working group to review existing systems and procedures for the review and preservation of Native Hawaiian burial sites

Working group would determine fair and effective penalties for persons who negligently or intentionally damage Native Hawaiian burial sites

Acknowledges the cultural significance of ancestral bones (iwi) in Native Hawaiian culture, which are believed to contain the deceased's mana (spiritual essence)

Notes that Island Burial Councils were created in 1990 within the Historic Preservation Division to make recommendations on treatment of inadvertently discovered Native Hawaiian skeletal remains

Directs certified copies be sent to the Board of Land and Natural Resources, State Historic Preservation Division, Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, Island Burial Councils, and directors of Kanaka Council Moku o Keawe and Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawaii Nei