The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC) has filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of the Second Circuit on behalf of ʻOhana Kimokeo, a Native Hawaiian family from Maui, to protect sacred ancestral burial sites in the Lahaina area from desecration and to hold the State of Hawaiʻi and an individual landowner accountable for violations of Hawaiʻi’s historic preservation laws.

The Practice of Mālama Iwi Kūpuna

For generations, ʻOhana Kimokeo has engaged in the traditional and customary practice of mālama iwi kūpuna — the caring for and protection of ancestral remains. This obligation is central to Native Hawaiian culture and spirituality, and it is a right expressly protected under Article XII, Section 7 of the Hawaiʻi Constitution.

When burial sites are desecrated, several severe harms occur. Primarily, desecration inflicts profound spiritual harm, disrupting the mana held within the bones and insulting the ‘uhane of the deceased. Further, courts have recognized that the disturbance of iwi kūpuna causes deep spiritual and emotional injury to lineal descendants and the broader Native Hawaiian community. These are some of the harms that ʻOhana Kimokeo has endured.

What Happened

Following the devastating 2023 Lahaina wildfire, federal archaeologists conducted an Archaeological Inventory Survey of the impacted area. On one private property lot, burial sites were exposed that previously had been obscured by overgrown vegetation. These newly uncovered burial sites were carefully photographed, documented, and marked. Federal personnel explicitly informed the property owner of the locations of these burial sites and made clear that machine excavation in those areas was prohibited.

This lot was known to have registered burials in other areas, belonging to, and cared for by ‘Ohana Kimokeo. In August 2024, after identifying the additional sites on this lot, ʻOhana Kimokeo submitted a burial site registration application to the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) to formally protect the additional sites. SHPD took no action to protect the iwi.

Then, on January 3, 2025, a machine excavator was used to clear the area where the burial sites were located at the landowner’s direction. Many of the newly identified archaeological and burial sites were damaged or destroyed.

ʻOhana Kimokeo reported the desecration to DLNR. The Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE), the law enforcement arm of DLNR, investigated and concluded that violations had occurred.  DOCARE submitted an investigative report to SHPD in May 2025. Again, SHPD took no action to enforce burial protection laws or protect the iwi.

In response to SHPD’s failure to act, ‘Ohana Kimokeo filed an ombudsman complaint (March 2025), discussed the matter with the Maui Lānaʻi Island Burial Council (July 2025), and wrote directly to the Board of Land and Natural Resources (July 2025). All of these agencies must wait for SHPD to first take action.

Then, in February 2026, neighbors acting with the landowner’s permission planted trees in the same area as the newly identified burial sites, causing further disturbance to the burial sites.

At this point, ʻOhana Kimokeo and their iwi need the courts to help.

The Lawsuit

NHLC’s complaint, filed March 2, 2026, asserts five counts:

1. Breach of Fiduciary Duty against SHPD, for failing to register the burial sites and failing to act on the DOCARE report documenting the desecration.
2. Failure to Follow Administrative Rules against SHPD, for failing to classify the burial sites as “previously identified” under Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules and initiate the required burial treatment process.
3. Violation of Article XII, Section 7 of the Hawaiʻi Constitution against SHPD, for failing to protect ʻOhana Kimokeo’s traditional and customary right of mālama iwi kūpuna.
4. Desecration Under HRS § 6E-11 against the landowner, for knowingly causing the excavation and destruction of burial sites without authorization.
5. Negligence against the landowner, for failing to exercise reasonable care despite having specific, direct knowledge of the burial sites’ locations.

Among the relief sought, NHLC is asking the court to require SHPD to formally register the burial sites, complete a burial treatment and protection plan in coordination with the Maui Lānaʻi Island Burial Council, and issue a final decision on DOCARE’s investigative findings — including whether to impose administrative penalties on the landowner.

The Law Protects Iwi Kūpuna

Hawaiʻi law is clear: iwi kūpuna burial sites are culturally significant, and they must be protected. Private landowners have a legal duty to comply with burial laws, and SHPD has a legal responsibility to enforce iwi protections.

NHLC is committed to standing with Native Hawaiian families in the exercise of their constitutionally protected rights. The protection of iwi kūpuna is not a bureaucratic formality. It is a sacred obligation, and the law demands that it be treated as such.

ʻOhana Kimokeo hopes that with this action, there is a pono resolution that allows for restoration and continued ongoing care for all the iwi on the property.

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The NHLC team for this case includes counsel of record Kirsha Durante and Devon Haia and supported by Shannon Prince and Terina Faʻagau.

Case: ʻOhana Kimokeo v. State of Hawaiʻi; Brian Acason, Civil No. 2CCV-26-0000069, Circuit Court of the Second Circuit, State of Hawaiʻi.

For media inquiries, contact the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation at (808) 521-2302 or via email at info@nhlchi.org.