![]() You are much more like the astronomers than you realize. I consider kapu aloha to be spiritually identical with Gandhi’s concept of satyagraha, which means “truth power.” Likewise, telling the truth is at the heart of kapu aloha. Your movement follows in the exemplary lineage of Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Your adherence to this code has prevented any violence aside from the first week, when the police arrested some of your leaders. This is a code that requires the protesters to maintain proper ( pono) and respectful behavior at all times, without anger. ![]() First and foremost among these, you have introduced the world to the concept of kapu aloha. ![]() As you have said many times, Mauna Kea is only a contraction of its full name, Mauna a Wakea-or Wakea’s mountain.įor our readers on the mainland, who may not have followed the drama on Mauna Kea closely, I would like to begin by celebrating some of your accomplishments. I greet you in the name of Wakea, the sky god who created the Hawaiian islands and the mountain on which you stand. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Dancing with my hula sisters (and occasionally brothers) has taught me to admire the Hawaiian culture, especially their reverence for their land. Hula is simply a way of telling a story, and men have been part of that folk tradition from the beginning. Likewise, I have been a hula dancer for 15 years. Though I am not an astronomer, I have been a science writer for 23 years and a mathematician before that, so I am part of the larger science ohana. When I heard about the protest I was torn apart, because I felt forced to choose between my two favorite ohanas (families). The kia’i argue that the mountain is sacred to the native Hawaiian people, and that the construction of the TMT would desecrate it. The time has come to build a new pathway forward that considers all people and is respectful of our host culture. This is the kind of justice we want to see for our kūpuna, who stood up for what they believe in - their culture and their ancestors. I will work to find a way forward together.On July 15, 2019, after a court decision had cleared the way for astronomers to build a new mega-telescope, called the Thirty Meter Telescope, on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, a large group of protesters said, “No.” Pitching their camp directly on the access road to the top of Mauna Kea, the protesters, who called themselves kia’i mauna (protectors of the mountain), pledged to stop any construction vehicles from passing. Josh Green said in a statement: “I appreciate the Attorney General’s decision to dismiss the charges against our kūpuna who peacefully protested at Mauna Kea three years ago. The protests led to Hawai’iʻs State Legislature forming the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority, a new governing body for the mountain. “So we have made a decision that we will be withdrawing our personnel so that they can enjoy the holidays with everyone else.” The protesters said they were “protectors” of sacred Mauna Kea in 2019. “We have been informed that the Thirty Meter Telescope will not be proceeding with construction at this time,” Ige said in a press conference that began a little after 11 a.m. They opposed the $1.4 billion project that they said would desecrate sacred land on 13,803-foot Mauna Kea, Hawai’i’s tallest peak. Thirty-eight people, mostly Native Hawaiians, were arrested for blocking the road and preventing construction vehicles from driving up the mountain. Inouye Highway (formerly known as Saddle Road) and the Mauna Kea Access Road. ![]() On July 17, 2019, day 3 of the protests and the day of the arrests, an estimated 1,000 people were at the intersection of the Daniel K. New Hawai’i State Attorney General Anne Lopez said in a statement: “After extensive litigation in the original prosecution, dismissal of the cases in 2022, and careful consideration of the benefits of re-prosecution to the State of Hawaiʻi, I have decided that the continued pursuit of these cases is not in the best interests of the people of the State of Hawaiʻi.” Kūpuna and others protest the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea in 2019. On Tuesday, the State of Hawai’i announced it will not refile charges against more than two dozen kūpuna who were arrested for the obstruction of Mauna Kea Access Road in 2019 while protesting the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on land Native Hawaiians consider sacred.
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