Instead of immediately overhauling management at the Royal Mausoleum at Mauna ʻAla, Hawaii state senators chose a slower approach, shelving a proposal to move control from the Department of Land and Natural Resources and forming a two-year study group to recommend a new governance model. The decision came after a tense hearing where descendants, aliʻi trusts, and civic groups debated who should oversee the state’s most sacred burial site.
Senate chooses study panel over immediate change
Committee chair Sen. Tim Richards told Civil Beat that lawmakers want “more discussion and ho‘oponopono” before making any drastic move. Instead of greenlighting a full transfer of authority, the panel advanced a measure to create a working group that will spend up to two years hashing out recommendations, effectively pushing any final decision on Mauna ʻAla oversight to 2028.
What SB 3247 would do
Senate Bill 3247 lays out the blueprint for a new Royal Mausoleum Commission housed within the Department of Land and Natural Resources. According to LegiScan, the commission would craft policy, set cultural protocols, sign off on the process for hiring the kahu and accept private money to help pay for upkeep. The bill also sketches out potential commission seats for aliʻi trusts, Hawaiian royal societies, burial councils and legislative appointees, and it would require yearly reports back to lawmakers.
Roots of the dispute
The latest showdown traces back to DLNR’s 2024 decision to name Doni Leināʻala Chong as permanent curator, a move that some descendants say cut against long standing family custodial practices and did not involve enough consultation. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that members of the Maioho family, whose ancestors served as kahu for generations, objected to how the hiring unfolded.
Funding and local stakes…