A packed courtroom erupted into tears and bellowing chants after a federal judge on Tuesday found four leaders of a Hawaiian group in contempt for refusing to disclose where they buried native Hawaiian artifacts borrowed from a museum.
Edward Halealoha Ayau, executive director of Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawaii Nei, was taken into federal custody after refusing Chief US District Judge David's Ezra's order to reveal the exact location of the 83 artifacts borrowed from Bishop Museum.
Ayau told Ezra that he would be honored to be placed in custody.
PHOTO: AP
"We did the honorable thing," he said.
Board members William Aila, Pualani Kanahele and Antoinette Freitas, were also found in contempt, but not jailed.
Ezra ordered Ayau to be kept in custody until he or others return the ancient objects or come forward with their location.
The judge said it was not necessary that the objects be returned to the Bishop Museum, but it was necessary that Hui Malama follow the court's order.
"Make no mistake about it, the court's order will be complied with," he said.
The four were called before the court to explain why they have refused to abide by a federal court order and state the locations of the objects and name those who had participated in their reburial.
Hui Malama has told the court that the items have been buried and sealed in the Kawaihae Cave complex on the Big Island. But Ezra said on Tuesday that the court needs a more precise location to better preserve and protect the artifacts.
Hui Malama said the artifacts were looted from a cave by an archaeologist in 1905 and illegally sold to the museum. The group argued that it has simply put the items back where they belong. But 13 other groups also claim ownership of the objects.
Hui Malama considers the objects funerary, even though Ezra said other Hawaiian groups have a different interpretation of the artifacts' spiritual significance.
"Your clients don't have the corner on the native Hawaiian religion," Ezra told the group's attorney before issuing the contempt order.
Sherry Broder, an attorney for the groups Na Lei Alii Kawananakoa and the Royal Hawaiian Academy of Traditional Arts, which sued Hui Malama for the objects' return, said Ezra had already bent over backward to accommodate members of Hui Malama.
Ezra said he had hoped that the groups involved could work out their differences but has heard only rhetoric on both sides.
Supporters of Hui Malama shouted and wept as the hearing closed and Ezra ordered everyone but the press to leave.
Kihei Nahalea, of the Big Island, was ordered by Ezra to spend five days in jail for contempt of court for shouting out as he left the courtroom.
A crowd then gathered just outside the courtroom and began wailing plaintive Hawaiian chants.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is constructing a new counter-stealth radar system on a disputed reef in the South China Sea that would significantly expand its surveillance capabilities in the region, satellite imagery suggests. Analysis by London-based think tank Chatham House suggests China is upgrading its outpost on Triton Island (Jhongjian Island, 中建島) on the southwest corner of the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), building what might be a launching point for an anti-ship missile battery and sophisticated radar system. “By constraining the US ability to operate stealth aircraft, and threaten stealth aircraft, these capabilities in the South China Sea send
HAVANA: Repeated blackouts have left residents of the Cuban capital concerned about food, water supply and the nation’s future, but so far, there have been few protests Maria Elena Cardenas, 76, lives in a municipal shelter on Amargura Street in Havana’s colonial old town. The building has an elegant past, but for the last few days Maria has been cooking with sticks she had found on the street. “You know, we Cubans manage the best we can,” she said. She lives in the shelter because her home collapsed, a regular occurrence in the poorest, oldest parts of the beautiful city. Cuba’s government has spent the last days attempting to get the island’s national grid functioning after repeated island-wide blackouts. Without power, sleep becomes difficult in the heat, food
U-TURN? Trami was moving northwest toward Vietnam yesterday, but high-pressure winds and other factors could force it to turn back toward the Philippines Tropical Storm Trami blew away from the northwestern Philippines yesterday, leaving at least 65 people dead in landslides and extensive flooding that forced authorities to scramble for more rescue boats to save thousands of terrified people, who were trapped, some on their roofs. However, the onslaught might not be over: State forecasters raised the rare possibility that the storm — the 11th and one of the deadliest to hit the Philippines this year — could make a U-turn next week as it is pushed back by high-pressure winds in the South China Sea. A Philippine provincial police chief yesterday said that 33
Botswana is this week holding a presidential election energized by a campaign by one previous head-of-state to unseat his handpicked successor whose first term has seen rising discontent amid a downturn in the diamond-dependent economy. The charismatic Ian Khama dramatically returned from self-exile six weeks ago determined to undo what he has called a “mistake” in handing over in 2018 to Botswanan President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who seeks re-election tomorrow. While he cannot run as president again having served two terms, Khama has worked his influence and standing to support the opposition in the southern African country of 2.6 million people. “The return of
RSS