AP News, July 23rd, 2007
Two Native Hawaiian groups that have waited two years for access to four Army-occupied sites they consider sacred will not be able to enter them, the Army has told them.
Malama Makua and Hui Malama have been banned since 2005 from four sites in the Makua Valley on Oahu for safety reasons, but the groups had hoped to be allowed back this year after two years of ordnance removal.
A letter from the Army dated June 12 said only visual access will be allowed from trails and overlooks, The Honolulu Advertiser reported. No one may touch or enter the areas, in order to preserve and protect those locations, it said.
The letter may violate a 2001 court order guaranteeing cultural access, the cultural groups said.
The court decree stated that Malama Makua and other groups must be allowed a minimum of two daytime accesses per month and one overnight visit a year for cultural activities, said William Aila, a member of Hui Malama.
"Now, these activities have been severely restricted," he said.
About two dozen cultural practitioners with Malama Makua were prohibited this weekend from visiting the four sites. The Army still allows the groups access to other areas near the front of the valley.
The Army said Friday that it is "providing access consistent with the 2001 Settlement Agreement, federal laws and safety concerns."
"Safety is and will continue to be one of the Army's foremost concerns," the Army said. "Makua Military Reservation is a live-fire training range, and as such, safety hazards like unexploded ordnance are present."
Earthjustice attorney David Henkin, who represents Malama Makua, said the groups and other cultural practitioners have visited the four sites between 2001 and 2005 with no apparent harm to either people or archaeological features.
Makua is considered sacred by many Native Hawaiians, but the Army considers the facilities there essential for ensuring troop readiness.
The military has trained in Makua for decades, but Native Hawaiian and environmental groups in recent years have criticized activities there, claiming the exercises have destroyed ancient cultural sites and endangered plants in the valley.
In 2003, a planned burn of brush by the Army raged out of control, scorching more than half of the more than 7-square-mile valley and destroying endangered plants. Fire also broke out during Marine training in 1998.
