Hawai'i Volcanoes Park Returns Lava-Buried Native Remains Homeward
Published Date: 3/18/2026
Notice
Summary
Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park has finished checking and listing human remains and special burial items found during old digs before lava covered the area. These remains and objects belong to Native Hawaiian groups and can be returned starting April 17, 2026. If you’re part of these groups, you can ask for the items back by contacting the park soon—no money changes hands, just respect and care.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Remains and Artifacts Identified for Return
Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park identified human remains for at least six individuals and 173 associated funerary objects from salvage excavations in Kalapana (1987–1989). These remains and objects are culturally affiliated with Native Hawaiian groups and may be returned starting April 17, 2026.
Who Can Request Repatriation
Repatriation requests may be submitted by any one or more of the Native Hawaiian organizations named in the notice, or by a lineal descendant or Native Hawaiian organization not named who shows by a preponderance of the evidence that they are affiliated. If competing requests arrive, the park will decide the most appropriate requestor; joint repatriation requests count as a single request. Written requests should be sent to Rhonda Loh, Park Superintendent, P.O. Box 52, Hawaii National Park, HI 96718, or emailed to the address shown in the notice.
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