Los Angeles

HINALEIMOANA Wong-Kalu has crossed swords with developers on behalf of native Hawaiians for most of her life, and spent the past eight years protecting the souls of departed ancestors as a member of the Oahu Island Burial Council.

This year, she took a job as a consultant for Ward Village, a US$10 billion, 4,000-residence waterfront development by Howard Hughes Corp, advising the Dallas-based company on proper treatment of unearthed human remains and sacred sites.