Island Burial Councils

The Island Burial Councils are the collective body of Hawaii's individual island burial councils, which advise the State Historic Preservation Division on the treatment, protection, and reinterment of Kanaka ʻŌiwi skeletal remains and burial goods under Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 6E. Each council reviews inadvertent discovery reports, consult on development projects that may disturb burial sites, and make nā ʻōlelo aʻoaʻo on appropriate disposition. Their decisions carry significant weight in land use and construction permitting across the state.

If you are a Kanaka ʻŌiwi lineal or cultural descendant, a developer, or a homeowner undertaking ground disturbance, burial council decisions pili pono i what happens when ancestral remains are encountered and what obligations apply.