As dictated by the mele oli Hānau Ka Mauna, a traditional Native Hawaiian chant, the top of Maunakea should be treated with the utmost reverence. The sun offers deferential respect to the peak as it rises each morning.
When Pua Case wakes up each day and looks out her window, the first thing she sees is the breathtaking beauty of the mountain that raised her, and the sun’s warmth cascading over it. For her and other Native Hawaiians, the sanctity of Maunakea cannot be overstated.
“It’s our genealogical connection to our creation story. In the same creation story that says that we were born, the Mauna was born,” Case said.
Rising more than 33,000 feet, Maunakea is the world’s tallest mountain from base to peak. Its height, dry atmosphere, and high visibility make it both a remarkable environmental phenomenon and a desirable place for astronomers to conduct research.
Despite the wishes of Native Hawaiians and advocates for Maunakea, the mountain is now the site of 13 observatories. The University of California and other investors are currently seeking to build a 14th: the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), on the summit of Maunakea.
The Thirty Meter Telescope Observatory Corporation was first established in 2003. Over the past 20 years, the UC has invested approximately $68 million into the project.
The movement against the TMT began in October 2014, when a peaceful protest blocked the entrance of Mauna Kea Observatory Road. Native Hawaiians and environmentalists gathered and spoke against plans to build a telescope on the summit. A series of demonstrations followed, leading then-governor of Hawai’i David Ige to postpone construction in 2015.
In 2019, protests caused further delay. In 2021, the Board of Land and Natural Resources Chair granted TMT a permit to begin construction. However, according to UC Observatories Director Bruce Macintosh, the TMT project is currently on hold due to lack of funding. It is seeking additional funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the federal government.
Since 2019, the UC Santa Cruz Mauna Kea Protectors have voiced their disapproval of the TMT and claim that the University of California’s perpetuate settler colonialism. Despite this, their efforts have largely been ignored by the UC administration.
“Over the years, there have been numerous students throughout the UC system that have very deliberately and very directly said to [the administration’s] face very clearly: ‘Divest, divest, divest!’” said Izabella Campos Layne, a member of UCSC Mauna Kea Protectors.
Pua Case’s personal connection to the land and bonds with other activists are at the core of her organization, Mauna Kea Education and Awareness (MKEA). She works with tribal groups and student coalitions like the UCSC Mauna Kea Protectors to advocate for the preservation of the site.
“To stand for Maunakea or any place else in Hawai’i, just like anywhere else, is exhausting,” Case said. “It’s your 24/7 because you are the David to their Goliath.”
To grasp the attention of other students, the UCSC Mauna Kea Protectors recently hosted an art exhibit with the help of Case and MKEA at the Sesnon Underground Gallery at Porter College: “Kūkulu, The Pillars of Mauna Ā Wākea.”
Rachel Huang, another member of UCSC Mauna Kea Protectors, spoke about the exhibit’s purpose.
“It’s an exhibit used to honor the people and the things that have carried us so far in our movement,” Huang said. “We’re going about this as protectors, not necessarily as aggravators.”
UC Observatories Director Bruce Macintosh states that the telescope would help scientists answer fundamental questions surrounding galaxy formation, the physics of black holes, and the function of nearby planets.
“We’ve really just hit the limit of what we can do with the telescopes we have,” Macintosh said.
A 2010 environmental impact report conducted by the state of Hawai’i concluded that the Thirty Meter Telescope would have a limited effect on the land. However, this is subject to debate.
“It’s an exhibit used to honor the people and the things that have carried us so far in our movement,” Huang said. “We’re going about this as protectors, not necessarily as aggravators.”
UC Observatories Director Bruce Macintosh states that the telescope would help scientists answer fundamental questions surrounding galaxy formation, the physics of black holes, and the function of nearby planets.
“We’ve really just hit the limit of what we can do with the telescopes we have,” Macintosh said.
A 2010 environmental impact report conducted by the state of Hawai’i concluded that the Thirty Meter Telescope would have a limited effect on the land. However, this is subject to debate.
Since being built, the 13 telescopes that sit atop the Maunakea summit have drastically altered the topography of the mountain and compromised animal habitats. There is also debate over whether or not the telescopes pose a threat to the aquifer sitting below them, which supplies water to Hawai’i Island’s east side.
“How do you know whether the opposition is strong enough, meaningful and fundamental enough that you shouldn’t be doing what you’re doing?” Macintosh said. “I don’t know how to answer that question.”
While the state of construction for the TMT remains uncertain, activists are unequivocally committed to protecting Maunakea. “In my dad’s day, they didn’t know that they had the right,” Case said. “But in this time period we have gone full circle. We know when enough is enough.”
Editors’ note: City on a Hill Press supports the University of Hawai’i at Hilo’s recommendation that ‘Maunakea’ be spelled as one word in keeping with the traditional Hawai’ian spelling.
