THE SENATE                           S.R. NO.              1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                     SENATE RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO
   ACQUIRE KAWAEWAE HEIAU IN KANEOHE, OAHU.
 


 1       WHEREAS, as the host culture for modern multiethnic Hawaii,
 2   the Hawaiian culture deserves special status and should be
 3   preserved; and
 4   
 5       WHEREAS, the various heiau throughout the Hawaiian Islands
 6   were used as places of worship by the ancient Hawaiians, and
 7   they provide an exceptional view of the past and represent a
 8   physical link between the past and the present; and
 9   
10       WHEREAS, Kawaewae Heiau is a luakini type heiau, the
11   largest and most elaborately built type of heiau, which was
12   constructed during the twelfth century for Chief Olopana of the
13   Koolau Poko districts of Kaneohe and Kailua; and
14   
15       WHEREAS, Kawaewae Heiau is famous for its part in the
16   legendary escapades of Kamapuaa the pig god; and
17   
18       WHEREAS, Kawaewae Heiau is approximately 260 feet in length
19   and 118 feet in width, with walls that are more than 6 feet
20   thick, varying in height from 4 feet to nearly 10 feet; and
21   
22       WHEREAS, this registered Historic Site has been in the
23   process of restoration since 1988 by various individuals and
24   organizations, including the Queen Emma Hawaiian Civic Club,
25   City Councilman Steve Holmes, the Moanalua Gardens Foundation,
26   Windward Lions Clubs, Boy Scout Troops, Nanakuli Intermediate
27   School students, Sierra Club, the Y.E.S. group, Kamehameha
28   Schools students, Farrington High School students, the Hawaii
29   Nature Center, and the D.L.N.R. Youth Conservation Corp.; and
30   
31       WHEREAS, the location of Kawaewae Heiau and its surrounding
32   area was archaeologically surveyed by the Bishop Museum
33   Anthropology Department in June, 1989 (Project No. 430,
34   Manuscript 061689), revealing several historically significant
35   sites, and recommending that due to heavy overgrowth and the
36   existence of possible hidden sites, further detailed surveys be
37   conducted in the future; and

 
Page 2                                                     
                                  S.R. NO.              1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       WHEREAS, the location of Kawaewae Heiau is 45-425
 2   Kamehameha Highway, Tax Map Key 4-5-033-001; now, therefore,
 3   
 4       BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
 5   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, that the
 6   Department of Land and Natural Resources acquire Kawaewae Heiau
 7   through purchase or land exchange; and
 8   
 9       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairperson of the Board of
10   Land and Natural Resources report to the Legislature on efforts
11   to acquire Kawaewae Heiau no later than twenty days prior to
12   the convening of the Regular Session of 2001; and
13   
14       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
15   Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of
16   Land and Natural Resources and the Governor of the State of
17   Hawaii.
18 
19 
20 
21                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________