[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6613984,"mediaKeyId","2866381-2826ce82e93c371fdb0b6d10eba39c8c","parentId",2866381,"title","Beneficiary testifies on burial council vacancies, DHHL paper leases and use of Hawaiian home lands","audioSeconds",3172,"startMs",2614000,"endMs",5786000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2866381-2826ce82e93c371fdb0b6d10eba39c8c&start=2614&end=5786","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2866381-2826ce82e93c371fdb0b6d10eba39c8c/thumbnail_2614000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6613984/Hawaii/Beneficiary-testifies-on-burial-council-vacancies-DHHL-paper-leases-and-use-of-Hawaiian-home-lands","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6613984-8239b0626175ccde64b74e0f311f4d15/orig.mp4?Expires=1771154372&Signature=ACjMjpZViS5qLg5EgJ-gXZWQR~AF-WURmUkOleobUoWWVuLONPiYPiV9rZZiog1-CzJZnLxvUH-dsQurQCjJPQ9ukb614uGwVRuO58ura-HWydyKld6DSMCS8mw7rz7YzZJVyXpC45LolUk9G35twN4fYjFHc7wTaAI7pJ1OR7VKksuNcli3eRMHsm1pbHM19L4HapqoIEayFxDtgS0r3wzZaE~X-zGkaS10qepokhcfX0W9uk6DpKznyss5X~WGTw4ZIuhGh2uhCZJDSVX3Klg~pzPXQCcjFc7VbFntbb~xbyVE9ODJ06MBlXrwpZ0xnWEaf170F3fdsQYsgYzqIQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Hawaii - Task Force Created by Act 170","date","2025-04-02T22:04:21.95Z","article","Germaine Myers, an OHA beneficiary, testified three times during the April 2 committee meeting — on the OHA legislative matrix, during Matrix 2 testimony and again at the community‑concerns portion — pressing trustees on burial‑council vacancies, long delays converting DHHL undivided interest \"paper\" leases to land leases, and the use of Hawaiian home lands for energy projects.

Myers told the committee that several island burial councils have persistent vacancies that prevent quorum. Testifying about Matrix 1, she cited the Molokaʻi burial council as having five seats but with all seats vacant at times, and said the governor’s slow appointments leave councils unable to meet. \"The burial council is being held ineffective by the inactions of the governor,\" she said, and urged trustees to press state leaders to fill seats in a timely way.

Myers also criticized DHHL land‑development practices. She testified that from roughly 1995 through 2005 the legislature provided DHHL $30 million per year for lot development, totaling $300 million, and that DHHL later received additional appropriations. She said DHHL issued large numbers of undivided interest paper leases beginning in the mid‑2000s and that many of those beneficiaries remain without converted land leases. \"As of December 2024 ... 730 undivided paper leases are still waiting for land,\" Myers said during community concerns testimony, and she said DHHL converted only a fraction of early paper leases into full land leases.

Myers also objected to proposals to site energy projects on Hawaiian home lands and asked why state energy projects were not sited instead on other state lands (for example, Department of Land and Natural Resources or Department of Transportation land). She flagged recent legislative requests related to potable water pilot projects and expressed alarm about wind‑farm and geothermal proposals affecting homestead lands.

Why it matters: Myers’s testimony reflects persistent beneficiary concerns about access to burial‑council seats, DHHL backlog and land disposition, and proposed uses of Hawaiian home lands. Trustees heard the testimony during legislative updates and in the public‑comment period; staff responded with procedural explanations about appointment processes.

Trustee and staff responses: Committee staff explained that OHA recruits and vets burial‑council nominees and forwards names to the governor, but that the governor and the Senate have separate roles in the appointment and advice‑and‑consent process. Staff said OHA’s role ends when nominees are passed to the governor. On DHHL matters, trustees acknowledged the testimony and noted these are longstanding policy concerns often discussed in other forums.

Ending: Myers concluded by urging trustees to review agency reports and to address what she described as a failure to convert long‑standing paper leases into full land leases for beneficiaries.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","04/02/2025 OHA Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment (BAE) Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","OHA beneficiary Germaine Myers urged trustees to press the state on appointment delays to island burial councils, criticized Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) paper leases and raised concerns about proposed energy and water projects on Hawaiian home lands.","taxTitle","Task Force Created by Act 170, Executive , Hawaii","taxId",26072,"location","Hawaii","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6613989,"OHA committee adopts staff positions on nine legislative matrices; board instructs staff to oppose SB 903 if settlement language remains",47,5371000,5418000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2866381-2826ce82e93c371fdb0b6d10eba39c8c&start=5371&end=5418","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2866381-2826ce82e93c371fdb0b6d10eba39c8c/thumbnail_5371000.jpg","/articles/6613989/Hawaii/OHA-committee-adopts-staff-positions-on-nine-legislative-matrices-board-instructs-staff-to-oppose-SB-903-if-settlement-language-remains","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6613989-c48bf5e43dcb79931653146058f37278/orig.mp4?Expires=1771154372&Signature=gBVuWg8FzGHsOIGo9N8kINzp1QHjybvIPw21OaOrGUIF~CJERRT3TFGMpNcFwgezW6Q9ohB8BDD8fvgXDjvJDcafj-xrhLmMF3DtVj2B5rvHH3tKxmJeRMgJBJRRfKH0OfVmUqSywMG6~h6cfKXIMJPB6VpFUxdNCM6P7iu3h8EmaSM-AavxUzzB6iJ616TpInm6QG7IAOTcTmy7SsVn55Ry0~NSB7iE7puaiT~1dZmT3jmNoFYx0ytVVvCQuayvcx4itCatIG7YYyS~Nx58VcQ1MOY5HsKvBYz4EiR22XfKiyBlt3RNm~QLZw0cL3pwRCXTOxiHyPOati-~imxgbQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment voted on April 2 to adopt staff recommendations on multiple legislative matrices, approving positions on bills across resources, housing, health, education, economic development and repatriation policy.

Most actions were passed unanimously. In a key vote on Matrix 2 (positions on bills naming OHA), the committee directed staff to seek amendments to Senate Bill 903 and instructed that, if the committee’s proposed amendments are not adopted by the legislature, OHA staff should oppose the bill in conference rather than submit a comment. The motion — to adopt staff recommendations for Matrix 2 and to change the committee’s position on SB 903 from \"comment\" to \"oppose\" if settlement language remained — passed 9‑0.

Why it matters: The matrices capture OHA’s formal positions on a wide range of pending bills. SB 903, which includes funding for a Public Land Trust working group, has been contentious: trustees and public commenters objected to language they say could enable a \"global settlement\" that would finalize state–OHA claims over ceded land. The committee’s action preserves OHA’s ability to push for an audit/inventory and for annual payment modeling while resisting language that would finalize a settlement without full board review.

Votes at a glance (formal motions recorded during the meeting):

- Approval of minutes for the Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment meeting of Feb. 19, 2025. Motion: approve minutes. Mover: Trustee Alapa; Second: Trustee Souza. Outcome: passed (7 yes).

- Matrix 2 (positions on bills naming OHA). Motion: adopt and amend staff recommendations; if committee amendments to SB 903 are not adopted by the legislature, staff is authorized to oppose SB 903 rather than merely comment. Mover: Trustee Ahuna; Second: Trustee Alapa. Vote: 9–0 (Ayes: Trustees Ahuna, Akapa, Akina, Alapa, Kahele, Lindsay, Souza, Wahei, Chair Galutaria).

- Matrix 3 (public land trust bills). Motion: adopt staff recommendations. Outcome: 9–0.

- Matrix 4 (natural resources and traditional practices). Motion: adopt staff recommendations. Outcome: 9–0.

- Matrix 5 (Native Hawaiian housing). Motion: adopt staff recommendations. Outcome: 9–0.

- Matrix 6 (Native Hawaiian health). Motion: adopt staff recommendations. Outcome: 9–0.

- Matrix 7 (Native Hawaiian education). Motion: adopt staff recommendations. Outcome: 9–0.

- Matrix 8 (economic development). Motion: adopt staff recommendations. Outcome: 9–0.

- Matrix 9 (HRS Chapter 6E — iwi kūpuna / repatriation matters). Motion: adopt staff recommendations. Outcome: 9–0.

Committee discussion and conditions: Committee members and staff clarified that OHA’s testimony prefers removing language that would convert a working‑group audit and inventory into a final settlement. Staff said they support using SB 903 as a funding vehicle for an independent audit and inventory if settlement language is stricken and if the working group’s mandate is limited to determining an annual payment formula. \"Our testimony opposes the language regarding final settlement,\" staff told trustees, but added the bill contains funding for the Public Land Trust Working Group, which the agency wants to preserve in amended form.

Next steps: Staff will proceed with the legislative strategy described by trustees — pursuing amendments in committee and, if necessary, opposing SB 903 in conference — and continue to file testimony or amendments consistent with the adopted matrices. The motions recorded above were made during the April 2 committee meeting and recorded in the official meeting minutes.","The Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment voted unanimously to adopt staff recommendations across legislative matrices 2–9 and to change its position on SB 903 (Public Land Trust working group) to oppose if specified settlement language is not removed.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6613993,"OHA schedules April trip to repatriate three iwi kūpuna from Ulster Museum; will pursue shared stewardship in Germany",2122,456000,2578000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2866381-2826ce82e93c371fdb0b6d10eba39c8c&start=456&end=2578","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2866381-2826ce82e93c371fdb0b6d10eba39c8c/thumbnail_456000.jpg","/articles/6613993/Hawaii/OHA-schedules-April-trip-to-repatriate-three-iwi-kūpuna-from-Ulster-Museum-will-pursue-shared-stewardship-in-Germany","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6613993-5d908305d69844fc65941f0f026fc590/orig.mp4?Expires=1771154372&Signature=XnvcYhRVbNSWsPq0kGfjWZVpPEcRZNrdilKircdHs7rwteyqgDg3jIqU73lpDzui7LEpVFCvWKUPFKR4-cIwp1HdYLKkDs3TZD0ljBfRjIVHjQJuGyVUGCvfQ2Gu7YEiEJNncuxjx3IbgRLrOIrCEucniLbaxSvUIUHgw6XzilpSgQ4-v8crLXzP7cfIDheL5Yt4m16Q4RlFin9xKqCi0KD-8z7yAY2NdPv0HXe6o74fG3e7Gyo0mO4moYDH8xL1IesJYEsvrwlBL2zxC9d-EbVsHMUo4F7WnKQoDsM5IhZbXhT3ItX3Xf7ii8Piv9NGEIlXpej58TTaK9B7Qc34hQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) said it will send staff to Europe and the U.S. East Coast from April 22 to May 3 to repatriate three iwi kūpuna from the Ulster Museum in Northern Ireland and to continue talks with the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, SPK) in Germany over two contested kiʻi.

The briefing, presented to the OHA Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment on April 2, described the trip as both a continuation of earlier claims and an opportunity for in-person negotiations and cultural ceremonies. \"I'm providing an informational briefing on an upcoming Office of Hawaiian Affairs repatriation mission ... April 22 to May 3,\" a staff presenter said during the committee meeting.

Why it matters: The work addresses claims started in 2021 and later, including human remains and funerary objects taken to overseas institutions during the 19th century. Repatriation is a culturally sensitive matter for beneficiaries and touches federal repatriation rules under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and related state historic‑preservation processes.

Details of the Ulster Museum claim: OHA staff told trustees the Ulster Museum had been the subject of a claim begun in 2021. The museum had initially located two iwi kūpuna from a total claimed five and repatriated those in 2022. In November 2024 the museum reported it had located three additional iwi kūpuna; the institution’s board approved return in early January, and OHA plans to recover those three during the April trip.

Germany discussions and shared stewardship: OHA staff described ongoing negotiations with SPK over two kiʻi that OHA contends are funerary because they were recovered in the same sinkhole as an iwi poʻo (head). SPK maintains legal possession. Rather than pursue protracted legal action, staff said OHA has been negotiating a shared‑stewardship arrangement that would allow periods of residence in both Hawaii and Berlin and cooperative care. \"This idea of shared stewardship ... offers the chance for institutions to work with native peoples on their holdings,\" a staff presenter said.

East Coast ceremonies and partnership work: The trip will include stops at the Peabody Essex Museum and the Smithsonian to attend or support repatriation ceremonies organized by partner claimants. OHA staff said they are supporting those events when asked and noted the Smithsonian has been moving toward broader ethical return policies beyond NAGPRA‑only claims.

Who will travel and budget: OHA said its delegation will include CEO Stacy Ferreira (introduced at the meeting), OHA’s cultural/implementation director Kuike (represented in the briefing by Elena Farden), and compliance staff. OHA will fund five travelers tied directly to OHA (two OHA staff plus three members of the partnering native‑Hawaiian organization named by partners), and staff told trustees OHA’s portion of the trip cost was about $30,000 for those five people. The presenters also said an earlier budget request submitted last year had been roughly $63,000 and was approved; the April trip’s outlay was reported lower.

Handling and disposition in Hawaiʻi: Repatriated sacred objects that are not OHA claims — for example, some items the Smithsonian planned to return to lineal descendants — were described as temporarily curated at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park curatorial facility before lineal‑descendant disposition or reburial. OHA staff emphasized that when OHA has co‑managed returns in the past it has favored reburial or immediate disposition in consultation with burial councils and descendants.

Legal and institutional context: Presenters said OHA and partner organizations are recognized contacts under NAGPRA for repatriation from federally funded U.S. institutions. Internationally, different countries and institutions apply different rules; where NAGPRA does not directly apply, OHA said negotiation, ethical return policies and cooperative stewardship are the primary avenues for resolving claims.

Trustee questions and cultural role: Trustees asked about where remains and funerary items would be curated on return and about the formal relationship with partner organizations. Elena Farden, speaking for the cultural team while Kuike was on leave, described five reasons OHA should participate: cultural and spiritual stewardship, genealogical legitimacy, complementary legal/cultural roles, institutional representation, and accountability to future generations. \"The return of iwi kūpuna and the mea kapu must be guided by those who hold this ʻike kūpuna,\" Farden said.

Next steps: Trustees did not take a formal vote on the informational briefing. Staff said they would proceed with logistics for the April travel, continue negotiations with SPK in Berlin, attend the East Coast ceremonies and coordinate curation and ceremonial plans with partner organizations and lineal descendants.

Ending note: Presenters described the mission as a mix of regulatory coordination, cultural protocol and diplomacy intended to recover iwi kūpuna and funerary objects and to strengthen OHA’s role in international repatriation work.","Office of Hawaiian Affairs staff will travel April 22–May 3 to recover three iwi kūpuna from Northern Ireland, attend repatriation events on the U.S. East Coast and continue negotiations with Germany’s Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation over two contested kiʻi.","actionData","errors"]

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Beneficiary testifies on burial council vacancies, DHHL paper leases and use of Hawaiian home lands

OHA committee adopts staff positions on nine legislative matrices; board instructs staff to oppose SB 903 if settlement language remains

OHA schedules April trip to repatriate three iwi kūpuna from Ulster Museum; will pursue shared stewardship in Germany