Indigenous sites are sacred: Michalyn Steele, ‘The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act as a Model of Cultural Sovereignty for Protecting Indigenous Sacred Sites’, Fordham Law Review, 94, 2, 2025, #8 | settler colonial studies blog

Indigenous sites are sacred: Michalyn Steele, ‘The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act as a Model of Cultural Sovereignty for Protecting Indigenous Sacred Sites’, Fordham Law Review, 94, 2, 2025, #8

07Nov25

Excerpt: For Native Hawaiians, the soaring summit of Hawaiʻi’s Mauna Kea is among the most sacred sites for their cultural and spiritual practices and beliefs. Indeed, the summit of the extinct volcano Mauna Kea is a literal dwelling place of deity, with access to the holy site, highly restricted to those authorized to perform sacred rituals. The mountain is central to the creation story and spiritual life of the Native Hawaiians and their islands; it is inextricably linked to their identity past, present, and future. In their tradition, only “spiritual leaders and royal elites” should be allowed access to the mountain to avoid disturbing the deity’s home.

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