HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – On Kauai’s North Shore, the owner of a site where ancestral remains were discovered told Hawaii News Now that he is receiving threats online. Descendants of those burials say they want everyone to come together to protect iwi kupuna.

In Wainiha near Hanalei, a video from this Oneone Road property called Hale Makai Cottages shows where construction is halted and orange flags mark areas of iwi kupuna. At least six iwi kupuna were discovered during a poana conversion project, say those with cultural ties to the area.

Megan Wong is a cultural descendant of the Nine Funerals.

“That area is completely dug up and there are piles of sand. We’re finding bone fragments all over the area,” Wong said.

“It just feels like a crime scene and you don’t know how to put it back together,” she added.

The Kauai Police Department arrested three people, including Wong, after KPD said it responded to reports that multiple people had been at the scene for four days.

“We’re asking that the law protect descendants to exercise their cultural rights, and some of those cultural rights are to go in, visit iwi kupuna and do a ceremony,” Wong said.

Last week, the state Department of Health issued a stop-work order so the state Historic Preservation Division could initiate and complete the investigation.

Property owner Chris Arreguin says he and his family have been the target of “misinformation” and “threats” online.

“We have had many cases of trespassing and destruction of property,” Arreguin said in a statement to Hawaii News Now.

He says they were instructed by the DOH to switch from sinks to septic tanks and followed state and county protocols.

“We recognize that people have questions about the process and procedures as instructed by the DOH and SHPD, but abuse and threats against anyone is not an acceptable reaction,” Arreguin said.

The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation is involved in the case.

“The government heard the cries of the descendants, heard that there were concerns, enough that it was appropriate to stop work,” said Makalika Naholowa’a, Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, executive director.

“All these processes were followed because the descendants and the community were very aware that there were burials here and so that is really the cry,” added Naholowa’a.

Meanwhile, Wong says the owner is not on Kauai and encourages Kapu Aloha as the community seeks a peaceful resolution.

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