IOSEPA, Tooele County — The Tooele County Sheriff's Office is investigating the destruction of a pair of tikis at the Iosepa Cemetery that had been the apparent focus of sharp debate among some in the Pacific Islander community.

"It's something sad," said Ron Manuela, president of the Iosepa Historical Association, an organization focused on preserving the history of the original Hawaiian settlers who once populated the remote Iosepa area, now abandoned. The tikis were "a gift to the people of Iosepa and to their families."

Sgt. Dane Lerdahl, with the Tooele County Sheriff's Office, said a deputy visited the area Tuesday to look into the matter and that the investigation continues. Officials think the two Hawaiian statues, placed at the cemetery last year, were downed on April 30 or May 1.

"We do know that they were cut down. It appears some sort of saw was used, and then they were stacked somewhere on the site," Lerdahl said.

Both Manuela and Lerdahl hinted at the mixed sentiments the tikis had generated, though the motive remains the focus of continued investigation. The tikis, made from telephone poles, were sawn into numerous pieces. "There's a lot going on, and we're still trying to sort out the details," Lerdahl said.

As many of the descendants of the Hawaiians and others who first settled Iosepa in the late 1800s belonged to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Manuela said some took umbrage with the installation of the tikis. According to Tikimaster.com, a tiki retailer in Hawaii, tikis can represent "various deities, ancestors or spirits in traditional beliefs."

While the tikis were meant as a gift, Manuela said, "there were those that verbally shared their dislike for it." Some, he said, saw the statues — one about 8-feet high, the other about 6-feet high — as an infringement on church beliefs and a step toward paganism. A sign posted in front of them, also downed, had read, "Guardians and protectors of our ancestors' sacred lands."

"That wasn't my feel. ... That's part of Hawaiian culture," Manuela said, also noting the church's development of the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii, which offers tourist packages focused on varied aspects of Hawaiian and Pacific Island culture. "It's not that it changed our focus, and now we were worshiping idols and things as such. But some didn't see it that way."

The Iosepa community in Tooele County's Skull Valley was once home to a contingent of Pacific Islanders, mostly Hawaiians, who migrated to Utah in the late 1800s after joining The Church of Jesus of Latter-day Saints. Iosepa was abandoned in 1917, but the cemetery remains as a gathering spot for the descendants of those earlier settlers who visit the location each Memorial Day weekend.

History to Go, a website operated by the state of Utah, says Iosepa is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the 1971 nomination form notes some of its history. Many of the Pacific Islanders who came to Utah after joining the church initially settled in the North Salt Lake area.

"However, as they did not integrate into the society very well, and rumors of leprosy were reported, the Mormon Church undertook to settle them as a group in Skull Valley," reads the nomination form. "In time, a community of 228 souls was developed in which the Polynesian culture flourished. Fish were raised in the springs and marshes nearby. The luau was preserved, as were many of their dances and customs. The Polynesians were popular performers throughout the area."

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After the church built a temple in Hawaii, many of the original settlers returned to Hawaii, and Iosepa was abandoned. "However, a few remained in the area of losepa and Utah. Today, descendants visit the region to view 'the land of their inheritance,'" reads the National Register application.

The Memorial Day weekend festival each year aims "to honor the faith and sacrifice of our Kupuna who lived here long ago," reads the Iosepa Historical Association website, using the Hawaiian word to denote community elders. A pavilion, kitchen and other amenities have been added to the cemetery over the years by the organization.

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