The media in Hawaii are reporting that Wal-Mart construction crews are coming up with human skeletons in their so-called “superblock” project on Keeaujmoku Street. This week, the giant retailer unearthed two more human remains, and a Wal-Mart spokesman said the bones have now been cordoned off and “protected”. The latest revelation of human relics comes within a day of the filing of a lawsuit by a native Hawaiian organization that wants to halt the store’s removal of the remains. The Wal-Mart site appears to be a major burial ground, with 25 sets of bones found since the beginning of 2003. The group Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawaii Nei told the media that it wants to force the state to leave the remains lying in place, to highlight the common practice of digging first before seeking an archaeological survey. The group says the state’s cavalier attitude towards state preservation laws has led to the unnecessary desecration of Hawaiian remains, such as the Wal-Mart site. The state’s Historic Preservation Division has made no decision yet about what Wal-Mart will have to do with the human remains.
In several other cases — Tennessee, New York, etc. Wal-Mart has found human skeletons during the construction process. In Leeds, New York, for example, construction stopped when the bones were found, and the store was never built. But in other locations, the remains were merely carted off, and the construction continued. In a number of states, the unearthing of human remains can shut down construction completely. But in Hawaii, Wal-Mart may be built, literally over their dead bodies.
