A Christmas confrontation in Laie between the real estate arm of the Mormon church and a Hawaiian family trying to protect their kuleana land rights and burial sites ended with several arrests after police used pepper spray against four kupuna engaged in a nonviolent protest.
The group, accompanied by supporters, was expected to return to the disputed site early this morning and attempt to stay until Wednesday. An alerts about this morning’s action was sent overnight via Twitter.
Dawn Wasson, a spokesperson for the family, said she and others have fenced the property and intend to block access to the site for 24 hours in order to stop the church’s attempt to take title to the property through “adverse possession”.
The legal status of the family’s claim to the property is not clear. Wasson points points to original Royal land patents and genealogy to support the family’s claims, but Hawaii Reserves Inc., the Mormon’s real estate affiliate, reportedly says it has valid deeds to the area.
Wasson has long advocated the right of Kuleana landowners to reclaim their family properties.
Wasson explains more of the background in a short video posted on Maoliworld.com.
The pepper-spray incident is described in a short video on Maoliworld.com.
The confrontation is the latest chapter in a long-running conflict over what the family says are its kuleana land rights.
Here’s Wasson’s overnight tweet:
Laie Kuleana Occupation 12-29,30-09 24hour KU?E 4am -4more Info : KUPUNA Dawn Wasson 808-692-6901 808-852-8778
In an email, Wasson provided additional information:
We need people to come this morning 4 am, all day and take a stand with us until tomorrow morning. Where? Kamehameha Highway and Cackle Fresh Store, go mauka a quarter of a mile, you will see the camp. Last night we had an irate woman by the name of Roxie Apuakehau from the Mormon church attempt to stop the posting of our fence. She grabbed the poles and tried to shake and pull it out of the ground. Earlier we picketed in front of the Laie Shopping Center near Hawaii Reserves Incorporated (HRI) the Mormon real property management company after which we chanted “HRI get off our land.”