Molokai Rural Development Project:


Archaeology

 


This project arises from years of community grassroots efforts to initiate a comprehensive survey and inventory of Molokai’s cultural and historic properties as the first step to protection of these sites as candidates for inclusion into the federal and state registry. An island-wide inventory of archaeological and cultural properties is one of the projects called for in the 1998 Molokai Enterprise Community (EC) strategic plan as a means to protect and conserve the island’s cultural resources and as a proactive approach initiated prior to any proposed land clearing or development. The Society for Molokai Archaeology (SFMA), a community group of volunteers is undertaking the planning for this important work.

The current statewide inventory of historic sites is incomplete and government resources are limited in remedying this serious deficiency. Recent amendments to Hawaii’s statutory law, HRS Chapter 343 provide that a complete Environmental Impact Statement shall now include effects of a proposed action on cultural practices. This new legislation requires a broader knowledge of cultural resources in a given area and the development of an appropriate methodology for gathering such information.

Real estate sales on Molokai have steadily increased over the past five years, with approximately thirty (30) undeveloped land parcels sold in 2003. New owners of these sizable parcels are likely to be unfamiliar with Hawaiian prehistory, culture, ecology or historic period land use patterns. SFMA will be working to encourage new owners to employ local para-professionals to accomplish an inventory of sites on their property.

Historically, landowners would not consider an archaeological survey of their lands unless budgeted into the preliminary costs of a planned development. More recently however, landowners and developers have seen the extreme negative costs, in courtrooms and in communities, of not assessing cultural resources on their lands prior to moving forward with development plans. Legal costs and the price of disharmony in the community are clear evidence that the economic benefits of knowledgeable management of cultural resources far outweigh the costs of a professional survey done in conjunction with the indigenous community.
Employment opportunities occur as private landowners on Molokai and elsewhere plan for development of their lands and meet the cultural assessment requirements newly integrated into the environmental permitting review process. The State Historic Preservation Division reports an average of six (6) projects per year on Molokai that would require at least a reconnaissance survey of the subject property to fulfill the requirements of Chapter 343.

The EC benchmark project for an island-wide archaeological inventory requires a highly trained group of para-professionals drawn from the Molokai community and working principally under the guidance of a professional archaeologist. These local and statewide trends underscore an increasing demand for trained individuals in archaeology field work and assessment; knowledge of cultural traditions and practices associated with properties assessed; and professional and legal requirements for documenting and protecting sites.
The purpose of this project was to provide field and classroom training in inventory survey work, monitoring and management of cultural sites. Project leaders included the Society For Molokai Archaelogy (SFMA) and the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Social Sciences, Department of Anthropology (CSS). Certified paraprofessionals by end of the training would qualify for employment. RDP provided funding for start-up costs during the first year with the understanding that subsequent courses in archaeology would be sustained through tuition and fees and other external funds.

CSS conducted an intensive field training in Kamalo and RDP followed with sponsorship of a second phase of training which included formal instruction and field work components. RDP supported the instructor and aide positions and associated travel for the Anthropology 290 course which included Hawaiian-specific topics; lectures supplemented with lab work, videos, guest lecture, small group activities and discussions. In the field, methods employed included survey, GPS, plane-table and alidade mapping, cross-section drawing, and photography. Kamehameha Schools provided a site in the ahupua’a of Kamalo for fieldwork. Advanced fieldwork techniques with limited excavation work were offered in Wailau Valley as part of a doctoral study of ancient taro agriculture systems. RDP provided stipends to trainees and covered travel costs by boat to this remote northern ahupua’a.

A total of eighteen (18) recruits took part in all or various phases of the training and received certification as Archaeological Technicians. Phase I participants conducted field work in the Kamalo ahupua’a in partnership with landowner Kamehameha Schools. Nine (9) participants conducted preliminary field work, which entailed reconnaissance, inventory survey transects, site and feature discovery, use of maps, general field protocol, use of nomenclature, use of flagging tape, use of compass, use of description forms, tape and compass mapping, and mapping with Global Positioning System (GPS). Phase II included fifteen (15) enrollees in the Anthropology 290 course. Thirteen (13) individuals passed with a C grade or higher (86%). Eight (8) of the enrollees received a grade of A (53%). Two (2) students attended classes for no credit. The final component entailed advanced fieldwork in the north shore valley of Wailau. According to the instructor, the trainees accomplished graduate level work in a matter of six (6) weeks with professional quality mapping and discipline.

Final monitoring results reveal the following about our former trainees:

  • Seventeen (17) of the eighteen (18) technicians entered unsubsidized employment; seven (7) entered into a two-year or four-year college program; and one (1) earned special recognition and credit towards licensure in his current position as well as eligibility for a pay rate increase.

  • The Akahele Archaeology firm, contracted by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) to conduct a reconnaissance survey and report on the archaeological resources within the Papohaku Dune system as part of the Cultural and Natural Resources Preservation Plan, hired six (6) of the trainees to conduct a two-day survey. They recorded sites under the supervision of a Moloka'i crew chief that had participated in the training. The crew received an hourly rate between $15-20. These technicians performed well and the consultant expressed enthusiasm for hiring them again should other opportunities arise.
  • One technician was retained for an archaeological assessment of a future quarry site and participated in an excavation and research project on ancient koa (fishing shrines) of west Molokai.
  • The Society for Molokai Archaeology (SFMA) hosted and co-sponsored an archaeology project in Kawela and west Molokai by Marshall Weisler, PhD from the University of Queensland. Dr. Weisler utilized six (6) local technicians for the work. They studied ancient coral beds in the soil at Kawela (central Molokai) and conducted surveys in west Molokai in the ahupua’a of Kaupoa, Halena, Kawakiu, and Hale O Lono.
  • One technician has been employed on multiple occasions. He took part in the Papohaku Sand Dune study done by the Akahele Archaeology consulting firm and was retained by the University of Hawaii as an archaeological assistant in a study of ancient agricultural systems in Wailau Valley. He completed portions of the final archaeology report. He was hired by Tom Dye and Associates to assist with a burial reinterment at Haena on the island of Kauai. The training afforded him through our program enabled this individual to produce drawings of such a high quality that they were included in the consultant’s final report. He was later retained by Chalmanik, a Maui archaeology firm to monitor a site at the Kaunakakai wharf during inlaying of a new pipe. He is now employed to monitor drainage and excavation work taking place in Kaunakakai, Molokai. This individual will be pursuing a career in archaeology and intends to earn an undergraduate degree and possibly a master’s degree.
  • Another technician conducted volunteer survey work for Goodfellows Construction Company in December 2005 and has been contacted by the Cultural Restoration Company for a paying position in a contract for work on Molokai.
  • One technician was hired as an Archaeological Surveyor by the Kalaupapa National Park Service (NPS).
  • One technician found the training invaluable and supplemental to his work with the Halawa Cooperative which is conducting archival work of cultural and historic documents relating to Halawa Valley and doing lo’i (taro patch) restoration there. Survey work and study of the ancient architecture of taro terraces in Wailau contributed to this former trainee’s understanding of the current taro restoration efforts he is engaged in now at Halawa.
  • Two (2) high school students received college credit through the training provided and are interested in continuing into higher education after graduation.
  • Another former trainee serves as President of the Halawa Valley Land Trust. She has been able to utilize archaeological surveying and mapping techniques she learned from the class to map Halawa Valley. In her current position as a community facilitator for the Queen Liliu’okalani Children’s Center (QLCC), she is collaborating with Molokai High School and the Hawaiian Immersion program there to create a youth archaeology program in which a “train the trainer” methodology will be employed and skills acquired through the RDP training will be taught to youth.
  • One participant has utilized the training to enrich his knowledge and add value to his work as a Hawaiian immersion teacher at the Molokai High School. The certification he received has been applied towards a Social Science licensure and qualifies him for an increased pay rate. He is collaborating with a colleague who also participated in the program (mentioned above) to develop an archaeology training program for youth.
  • Two individuals who were previously volunteers at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) were subsequently hired. Part of their duties include working on cultural projects and assisting with archaeological assessments, interacting with relevant agencies and developers where OHA has an interest. Other work included assessment on a developer’s property at Keonelele
  • Two (2) technicians were hired (at $13/hr) by Scientific Consultant Services (SCS), an archaeological firm based on the island of Oahu, in the survey of sixteen (16) acres of privately-owned land on Molokai. The technicians proved instrumental in identifying seven (7) sites (ancient dwellings) and two (2) upright features (that may indicate burial mounds). Future work may include surveying of all sixty-one (61) acres of the property. Impressed with their work, SCS retained one of the employees as an on-island contact/staff person for future survey work.
  • The two (2) technicians previously hired by SCS were retained again for continued surveying of a developer’s property. Five (5) burial sites were discovered on thirty (30) acres of land. One of these technicians was a youth participant currently enrolled in college and pursuing an education degree. She is also seeking to participate in a summer program to do conservation management work. Her field skills put her in good stead to be accepted into the program.
  • Another individual is also applying field skills and awareness of the island’s topography gained through this training in his current volunteer work with The Nature Conservancy.
  • One (1) youth participant attended a three (3) day Hawaiian culture workshop where she learned song and chant creation. This workshop with elements in oral history and cultural anthropology served to supplement her prior archaeological training.
  • Seven (7) individuals are pursuing degrees in Hawaiian Studies, Health Science, Nursing, Social Services, Anthropology, and Education.
  • The former instructor of this training program conducted additional field research for four (4) weeks in Wailau Valley. She hired one of the archaeological technicians trained under this program. He served as her field supervisor.
  • A technician was hired by Scientific Consultant Services (SCS), an off-island archaeological firm for a survey of lands in Kaunakakai slated for the building of a new fire station.

    Employment opportunities persist with our skilled technicians in continuous demand Statewide for archaeological surveying and monitoring.

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Reach Molokai RDP by phone: (808) 553-8209, (808) 660-3720; By Fax: (866)-438-3813 or mail correspondence to: Molokai RDP c/o MCC-Molokai Education Center, P.O. BOX 440, Kaunakakai, HI 96748.

 

Molokai Projects:

Agriculture Cohort

Agricultural Mechanics & Organic Farming Methods

Agriculture Workforce Training

Certified Substance Abuse Counselor Training Program

Community Kitchen Incubator

Computer-Based Training

Digitization Technology

Emergency Response Academy

Entrepreneur Training - Kuhao Business Center

Hemodialysis Tehnician Training

Molokai Language Institute Program

Taro Production

Teacher Preparation & Training

Visitors Study Initiative

Youth & Young Adult Training

 

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