A Fine for Taking Pictures

While it is not common practice for me to go around taking photographs of human remains, the following directive from the State of Hawaii Dept. of Land and Natural Resources is somewhat troubling. Surely most people will use common sense when confronted with such issues, but the threat of a fine for taking a picture is over the top in my opinion.

Letter from the DLNR:

March 17, 2011

To: All news agencies

From: William Aila, Chair, Department of Land and Natural Resources

Re: Photographing Human Remains for newscasts.

Aloha,

I am writing in response to decisions by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Hawaii News Now, to photograph Native Hawaiian remains and then to publish those remains in newscasts and on-line.

State law strictly prohibits photographing any remains over 50 years old unless expressly approved by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, or in the case of Native Hawaiian remains, by the Island Burial Council. In this case we are not aware of any such approvals.

Please note that HAR 13-300-32 (c) also allows the department to levy fines, up to $10,000 per violation.

Although the law is very stringent, we believe it only requires that people treat human remains, particularly those of Native Hawaiians with the respect they would show their own ancestors. In this instance reporters did not show any sensitivity for the remains of the dead or for Native Hawaiian desires to protect the sanctity of their kupuna iwi. In the future, we request that all news agencies show due respect for the dead and refrain from photographing human remains.

We also note that burial sites are subject to looting and for that reason the department is allowed to keep information of burial sites confidential under specific circumstances (13-300-31). For this reason, we also request that news agencies refrain from publishing the exact location or identifying features of burial sites, especially before families have been notified. Again, this is a matter of respect for the dead, regardless of ethnicity.

Sincerely,
{signed on attached pdf copy}

William J. Aila, Jr.
Chairperson, Dept. of Land and Natural Resources