Hawaiian cultural practitioners have nominated Maunakea to be included on the state and federal registers of historic places.
At a Thursday meeting of the Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority board, Ku‘upua Kiyuna, legal specialist for nonprofit Huliauapa‘a, told the board her organization has filed nominations for a portion of Maunakea, including the mountain’s summit, to be listed as a “traditional cultural property and district” on the National Register of Historic Places and the Hawaii Register of Historic Places.
Huliauapa‘a, Kiyuna said, is dedicated to empowering communities to steward and preserve Hawaii’s cultural sites. As such, it submitted the nomination on behalf of two other Native Hawaiian advocate groups, KAHEA and Mauna Kea Anaina Hou.
By having the mountain — more specifically, public lands on the mountain above the 6,500-meter level — listed on the state and federal registers, Kiyuna said agencies such as the Hawaii State Historic Preservation Division and the National Trust for Historic Preservation would participate in future changes or alterations to the site.
“Both state and federal historic preservation processes require project proponents to weigh the impacts of any proposed projects on historic sites,” Kiyuna said. “The main takeaway here is that establishing a (traditional cultural property) gives project proponents more information to work with and an earlier understanding of the compliance that’ll be required.”
The National Register requires any property to meet at least one of four criteria to be listed as a traditional cultural property, Kiyuna said, while the State Register requires an additional two criteria.
Those national criteria require at least one of the following: a connection with events significant to a cultural group’s history; a connection with specific historic or spiritual figures important to a group’s culture; an association with a specific style of cultural artwork and craftsmanship; or having a history of yielding important ethnographic, archaeological or other cultural information.
On the state level, an eligible property also must present a positive environmental impact through its preservation and must contribute to the understanding and enjoyment of Hawaiian history and culture.
Maunakea meets all four of the national criteria and the two state criteria, Kiyuna said.
Kiyuna added Huliauapa‘a is not the first to propose that Maunakea is eligible for listing on either register, noting that the University of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan stated in 2009 that the summit region was eligible for inclusion in the National Register.
Kiyuna also noted other sacred mountains in the U.S. have been listed on the National Register, including Tecate Peak or Kuuchamaa in California and Spirit Mountain or Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada, which were respectively listed in 1992 and 1999.
Board chair John Komeiji raised concerns that the MKSOA’s jurisdiction over Maunakea is already being eroded. He questioned whether the historic designation process might allow state and federal bodies to make decisions about the mauna that supersede those of the burgeoning MKSOA.
Huliauapa‘a Historic Preservation Specialist Rachel Hoerman said agencies such as the State Historic Preservation Division would be able to comment on proposed changes to the Maunakea summit, but added that because MKSOA won’t fully take over management of the mountain until 2028, she can’t predict how the jurisdictions of the various organizations would interact.
Kiyuna said the State Historic Preservation Division’s review board will discuss Maunakea’s nomination to the Hawaii Register of Historic Places on Nov. 17. If the board chooses to accept the nomination, she said Huliauapa‘a will work with SHPD to recommend Maunakea’s nomination to the National Register.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.