A new policy statement adopted by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation commits it to work with Native Hawaiian organizations when considering a project's potential impacts on historic properties. - Photo: KWO file

Council strengthens Native Hawaiian voice on historic preservation

By Lisa Asato / Ka Wai Ola

A federal historic preservation advisory council has adopted a policy statement that commits it to working with Native Hawaiian organizations during the review process to determine a project's potential effect on historic properties.

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation adopted the policy statement on May 13. The policy adoption will impact discussions like building roads to Hawai'i Island's Pōhakuloa Training Area to accommodate Stryker Brigade tanks and the National Science Foundation's proposal to construct a telescope on Haleakala in Maui.

“It's a policy that not only acknowledges the contributions that Native Hawaiians and Native Hawaiian culture brings to the Native Hawaiian preservation program,” Valerie Hauser said during an interview on OHA's morning radio show, Nā 'Ōiwi 'Ōlino. Hauser, who is the coordinator of the ACHP's Native American Program, also said the policy “directs staff and membership to take certain actions … it's committing us in writing to address certain issues. We are doing much of this, but it's a very serious statement about our commitment to work with Native Hawaiians.”

She added: “This process is so important because this is perhaps the only opportunity where native peoples have the opportunity to influence federal decision-making. This is your opportunity to sit on the table and say, 'That place is so important to us that building a tank road might not be compatible, building housing (at a proposed location) might not work, but building here might work.' ”

Ray Soon was the Native American representative (which includes Native Hawaiians) on the council for nine years ending in 2004. Soon, a former chairman of the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, said the National Historic Preservation Act was amended in 1992 to include Native Americans and Hawaiians. “It took five years before they adopted regulations, and the reason they did was because we fought like hell to make sure Native Americans had a place at the table,” he said.

Soon said the policy adoption by ACHP shows the “incredible leadership of (ACHP chairman) John Nau in the face of a Bush administration that “struggles with Hawaiians” and opposes the Akaka Bill and Native Hawaiians' rights of self-determination.

Nau has also sent a memo to policy officers at other federal agencies advising them of its policy adoption and encouraging them to do the same, Soon said.

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has worked with federal agencies on cases like the Keck Observatories on Mauna Kea and the H3 freeway on O'ahu.

For information, call the council at 202-606-8530 or visit www.achp.gov.