A group of native Hawaiians visiting Tokyo asked Japan Airlines on Friday to cease funding a golf resort being built on their ancestral burial grounds in South Kona, Hawaii.
The Hawaiians contend that the project, promoted by an Arizona-based developer, is desecrating sacred burial grounds and that the bones and artifacts bulldozers turn up are not being handled properly.
The group said they will meet with a JAL official Monday.
"We want JAL to pull their money out of this (project). If they really want to put their money in Hawaii, they can put it into helping our culture survive," said Aka Dooley. , who lives near the site and is a member of a local citizens' group dedicated to protecting indigenous culture.
Dooley estimates that over 1,200 graves have been unearthed and says the bones are being handled inappropriately. She says the developer has not followed protocol on unearthing and monitoring the removal of bones when they have been discovered during construction.