Editing Palmyra Atoll (section)

==== Sovereignty challenges (1997–1999) ====
In the late 1990s, Rachel Lahela Kekoa Bolt, a [[native Hawaiian]] heir of Henry Maui, and some of her descendants filed federal lawsuits claiming her inherited interest in Palmyra and challenging the legality of the [[Newlands Resolution]] that annexed Hawaii. The lawsuits [[Hawaiian sovereignty movement|challenged American sovereignty]] over both the State of Hawaii and the United States Territory of Palmyra Island.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Painter et al. v. United States et al. |reporter=Case No. CV96-00685HG |court=D.C. Hawaii |date=1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite court |litigants=Painter v. United States et al. |reporter=Case No. 1:98 CV-01737 |court=D.C. Dist.Col. |date=1999}}</ref> On similar grounds, they [[Intervention (law)|intervened]] in a federal [[marine salvage]] claim for a sunken [[treasure]] ship at Palmyra.<ref name=treasurecase>{{cite court |litigants=William A. Warren v. Unidentified Wrecked Vessel |url=http://palmyraarchive.org/items/show/131|reporter=Case No. CV96-00018SPK |court=D.C. Hawaii |date=1998}}</ref> The cases were dismissed on procedural grounds before trial.