It’s been over a decade since hundreds of Native Hawaiian burials were unearthed during a construction project at Kawaiaha‘o Church, setting off a storm of controversy and legal dispute that went all the way to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

On Wednesday the fate of those skeletal remains was finally determined by the Oahu Island Burial Council, which approved a plan to allow interment of iwi kupuna as close as possible to their original burial places at Honolulu’s oldest church.

When the council approved the Kawaiaha‘o Joint Burial Treatment Plan on a 5-0 vote, the crowd filling the state Department of Land and Natural Resources board room broke into applause. Afterward, hugs and tears were seen in the breezeway outside the board room.

“Indescribable joy and relief” is how Edward Hale­aloha Ayau described his feelings. Ayau is a burial and iwi kupuna repatriation expert who has been helping to work toward a resolution of the dispute for years.

“It took so long,” he said.

Following the vote, the descendants walked down Punchbowl Street to the historic church, where they prayed with Kahu Kenneth Makuakane and then paid their respects to the remains of their ancestors, which have been stored in the Mark A. Robinson Chapel beneath the main sanctuary since the bones were unearthed more than 10 years ago.

Among the descendants were council members Mana Caceres of Ewa and Diane Fitzsimmons of Waialua, each of whom recused themselves from Wednesday’s vote and then excused themselves from the rest of the meeting to join the procession to Kawaiaha‘o. Council member Brickwood Galuteria, a member of the Kawaiaha‘o congregation, also recused himself from the vote.

The approved burial plan, jointly written and supported by the church and the majority of recognized descendants, affects the remains of more than 600 individuals.

“The hard work starts now,” Suzanne Boatman, chairwoman of the Kawaiaha‘o board of trustees, said outside of the church.

“It’s about meeting their needs,” she added, pointing to the 18 or so descendants inside the sanctuary. There are 84 living recognized descendants.

There are also government permits needed to get the reinterment going and several lawsuits that require resolution, she said.

The controversy dates back to Kawaiaha‘o’s attempt to construct a $17.5 million multipurpose building adjacent to the church sanctuary in 2006. The project started with the demolition of two buildings, a social hall and an administration building, which contained the church restrooms and elevator to the church sanctuary.

Ayau said the church’s leadership, with the blessing of DLNR, went forward with the project even though officials knew it was highly likely bones would be unearthed. He said the church gambled with the law and brought the lawsuits and controversy upon itself.

“Burial law is designed to make sure something like this never happens,” he said.

Protest, controversy and several lawsuits followed, including one that ended up at the state’s highest court, which upheld a lower court ruling that said the state violated its own rules in allowing construction of the building without requiring the church to do an archaeological inventory survey first.

An injunction in 2011 reduced all fieldwork to hand tools only and essentially halted any progress on the building.

Ayau credited a change in administration at the church for helping to put divided church members and the descendants on the same path.

Makuakane, in an interview, said he could feel the controversy tearing apart the church when he came on board in 2018.

“When I came in, I saw broken families,” he said. “I felt my responsibility was to reunite, not break apart families. The church is supposed to be a healing place.”

Makuakane announced at a burial council meeting in 2018 that the church’s trustees were recommending the discontinuation of the planned multipurpose center and had instead favored the development of a burial treatment plan.

Ayau said families in recent years met 138 times regarding the reburial efforts during weekly meetings that acted in part like a support group.

“There was a lot of pain,” he said.

Boatman said the church plans to continue working with the State Historical Preservation Division to achieve a final signoff to the burial plan. This could take up to 90 days, she said, but church officials are hoping it can happen sooner.

The church is currently operating under an injunction that allows only the use of hand tools within the reburial area. The church, she said, will petition the court to lift the injunction and apply for the required demolition and grading permits.

Boatman said the project’s general contractor, Hawaiian Dredging, will be operating during regular daytime hours to minimize the disturbance to nearby residents. The project should take about two months when final approval comes through.

“The church and the recognized descendants are anxious to start and complete before the next rainy season,” she said.