Mauna Kea Anaina Hou

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Mauna Kea Anaina Hou
Part of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and Thirty Meter Telescope protests

Mauna Kea Anaina Hou ("People who pray for the mountain", [1] ) and its sister group, Mauna Kea Hui, are indigenous, Native Hawaiian, cultural groups with environmental concerns located in the state of Hawaii.

Contents

Background

Kealoha Pisciotta, at a hearing for the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope Kealoha Pisciotta.JPG
Kealoha Pisciotta, at a hearing for the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope

Hawaiian cultural organizations have objected to the observatories on Mauna Kea as sacrilegious, spoiling their god's home and destroying the shrines of Hawaiian families. [2] MKAH was founded by Kealoha Pisciotta, a former systems specialist for the joint British-Dutch-Canadian James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, [2] [3] who became concerned that a stone family shrine she had built for her grandmother and family, years earlier, had been removed and found at a dump. [3] The shrine was removed by a tour guide from the University of Hawai'i's Institute for Astronomy. [3] Pisciotta stated in 2002 that the group was a "Native Hawaiian organization comprised of cultural and lineal descendants, and traditional, spiritual and religious practitioners of the sacred traditions of Mauna Kea." It is described as an organization of Hawaiian cultural practitioners. [4] While many in opposition of the observatories call for a complete removal of all telescopes from the mountain, Pisciotta and her groups support less extreme action. [3] The issue of cultural rights on the mountain was the focus of the documentary: "Mauna Kea — Temple Under Siege" which aired on PBS in 2006 and featured Kealoha Pisciotta. [3] The Hawaii State Constitution guarantees the religious and cultural rights of Native Hawaiians. [5] Many of the state of Hawaii's laws can be traced back to Kingdom of Hawaii law. Hawai`i Revised Statute § 1-1 codifies Hawaiian custom and gives deference to native traditions. [6] In the early 1970s, managers of Mauna Kea did not seem to pay much attention to complaints of Native Hawaiians about the sacred nature of the mountain. Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, the Royal Order of Kamehameha I and the Sierra Club, united their opposition to the Keck's proposal of adding six addition outrigger telescopes. [7]

In 2003 MKAH sponsored a photography exhibit along with the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, Kahakamaoli Religious Institute, Makaainana Foundation and the Sacred Mountain Society, all Native Hawaiian groups that strongly believe Mauna kea to be a sacred place. Due to a lack of cultural sensitivity with expansion of the observatories, the groups built an altar in 1998 at the summit of the mountain and conduct solstice and equinox ceremonies each year. [8]

Keck opposition

In 2004, the group spoke against an environmental study that came out in favor of an expansion to the Keck telescope, called outrigger. [9]

Development of the Mauna kea observatories is still opposed by environmental groups and Native Hawaiians. A 2006 proposal for the Outrigger Telescopes to become extensions of the Keck Observatory was canceled after a judge's determination that a full environmental impact statement must be prepared before any further development of the site. [10] The "outrigger" would have linked the Keck I and Keck II telescopes. Environmental groups and Native Hawaiian activist were a lot stronger at this time than in the past but NASA went ahead with the proposal for lack of an alternate site. The group Mauna Kea Anaina Hou made several arguments against the development including that Mauna Kea was a sacred mountain to Native Hawaiians where many deities lived and that the cinder cone being proposed was holy in Hawaiian tradition as a burial site for a demi-god. The group raised several other concerns such as environmental over native insects, the question of Ceded lands and an audit report, critical of the mountains management. [1] The case was handled pro bono by a team including L. Hong who, in 2005, won an award for working to protect Hawaiian land and culture. [11] [12]

TMT opposition

Mauna Kea Hui gained the support of Hollywood actors, Jason Momoa and Kala Alexandra as well as surfer and politician, Dustin Barca in 2015. [13] On April 17, 2015 Governor David Ige announced a temporary halt to construction of the TMT. Mauna Kea Hui thanked the governor of Hawaii and his staff in an official statement. [14]

After the arrests of 31 people blocking the road to Mauna Kea in April 2015, MKH stated; "There are no words… we are deeply deeply saddened by the arrests today of our Hawaiian brothers and sisters and other citizens who were peacefully protecting Mauna Kea from further desecration while we wait for Hawaiʻi’s courts to hear our appeal.".. [15] [16] In 2015 MKH sent a letter to the Hawaii attorney general relating to access of the mountain being limited to observatory employees and their crews. [17] The group was one of several parties to win revocation of the Thirty Meter Telescope permit in 2015. [18]

MKAH made national headlines in 2015 for their lawsuit relating to their protest of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea, on the Island of Hawaii. [19] The Canadian group Idle No More expressed support for Mauna Kea Anaina Hou. [20] Another group that has supported MKAH's efforts is the Sierra Club of Hawaii. [21]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawaii (island)</span> Largest of the Hawaiian islands

Hawaii is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of 4,028 square miles (10,430 km2), it has 63% of the Hawaiian archipelago's combined landmass. However, it has only 13% of the archipelago's population. The island of Hawaiʻi is the third largest island in Polynesia, behind the north and south islands of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. M. Keck Observatory</span> Astronomical observatory in Hawaii

The W. M. Keck Observatory is an astronomical observatory with two telescopes at an elevation of 4,145 meters (13,600 ft) near the summit of Mauna Kea in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Both telescopes have 10 m (33 ft) aperture primary mirrors, and when completed in 1993 and 1996 were the largest optical reflecting telescopes in the world. They are currently the 3rd and 4th largest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mauna Kea</span> Hawaiian volcano

Mauna Kea is an inactive volcano on the island of Hawaiʻi. Its peak is 4,207.3 m (13,803 ft) above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaiʻi and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak is about 38 m (125 ft) higher than Mauna Loa, its more massive neighbor. Mauna Kea is unusually topographically prominent for its height: its wet prominence is fifteenth in the world among mountains, at 4,205 m (13,796 ft); its dry prominence is 9,330 m (30,610 ft). This dry prominence is greater than Mount Everest's height above sea level of 8,848.86 m (29,032 ft), and some authorities have labeled Mauna Kea the tallest mountain in the world, from its underwater base. Mauna Kea is ranked 8th by topographic isolation.

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The Mauna Kea Observatories (MKO) are a group of independent astronomical research facilities and large telescope observatories that are located at the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, United States. The facilities are located in a 525-acre (212 ha) special land use zone known as the "Astronomy Precinct", which is located within the 11,228-acre (4,544 ha) Mauna Kea Science Reserve. The Astronomy Precinct was established in 1967 and is located on land protected by the Historical Preservation Act for its significance to Hawaiian culture. The presence and continued construction of telescopes is highly controversial due to Mauna Kea's centrality in native Hawaiian religion and culture, as well as for a variety of environmental reasons.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thirty Meter Telescope</span> Future observatory in the United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onizuka Center for International Astronomy</span> Support facilities for the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii, US

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opposition to the Mauna Kea Observatories</span> Opposition to the Mauna Kea Observatories

Opposition to the Mauna Kea Observatories has existed since the first telescope was built in the late 1960s. Originally part of research begun by Gerard Kuiper of the University of Arizona, the site has expanded into the world's largest observatory for infrared and submillimeter telescopes. Opposition to the telescope from residents in the city of Hilo, Hawaii were concerned about the visual appearance of the mountain and Native Hawaiians voiced concerns over the site being sacred to the Hawaiian religion as the home of several deities. Environmental groups and activists have been expressing concern over endangered species habitat.

Jonathan Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio is a Native Hawaiian professor of Hawaiian studies. He is the Dean of the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Kamana Beamer is an author, geographer, and educator on natural resources and Hawaiian Studies. He currently holds the Dana Naone Hall Chair in the Center for Hawaiian Studies with a joint appointment in the Richardson School of Law and the Hawai‘inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. He is one of eight panelists appointed by Hawai'i Governor David Ige to hold stewardship over Mauna Kea.

References

  1. 1 2 Patrick Kenji Takahashi (29 February 2008). Simple Solutions for Humanity. AuthorHouse. p. 163-164. ISBN   978-1-4678-3517-6.
  2. 1 2 Castro, Joseph (18 January 2011). "Bridging science and culture with the Thirty Meter Telescope". Science Line. NYU Journalism. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Tsai, Michael (July 9, 2006). "Cultures clash atop Mauna Kea". The Honolulu Advertiser. The Honolulu Advertiser.com. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Dayton, Kevin (January 21, 2007). "New vision for Mauna Kea Science Reserve". The Honolulu Advertiser.com. The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  5. ↑ Steven C. Tauber (27 August 2015). Navigating the Jungle: Law, Politics, and the Animal Advocacy Movement. Routledge. p. 138. ISBN   978-1-317-38171-6.
  6. ↑ Sproat, D. Kapua`ala (December 2008). "Avoiding Trouble in Paradise". Business Law Today. 18 (2): 29. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  7. ↑ Miller, Steve (2010). "Mauna Kea and the work of the Imiloa Center" (PDF). EPSC Abstracts. European Planetary Science Congress 2010. 5 (EPSC2010): 193. Bibcode:2010epsc.conf..193M.
  8. ↑ Tsai, Michael (January 8, 2003). "Photography exhibit honors Hawaiian values". The Honolulu Advertiser.com. The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  9. ↑ "Report favorable to Mauna Kea telescope plan - The Honolulu Advertiser - Hawaii's Newspaper".
  10. ↑ Jeff Campbell (15 September 2010). Hawaii. Lonely Planet. p. 97. ISBN   978-1-74220-344-7.
  11. ↑ staff. "Hawaii Judge Reverses Permit for More Mauna Kea Telescopes".
  12. ↑ "Lea Hong works to protect Hawaii's environment and culture". Pacific Business News.
  13. ↑ "Mauna Kea Hui of Protectors Gain Support".
  14. ↑ "Mauna Kea Hui Responds to Ige on TMT". Honolulu. 19 April 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  15. ↑ "31 Arrested On Mauna Kea, Mauna Kea Hui Responds".
  16. ↑ Mileka Lincoln (18 November 2015). "DLNR agents no longer expected at Mauna Kea following order susp - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL".
  17. ↑ "Lawyer Challenges Hawaii AG Over Mauna Kea Access".
  18. ↑ Alex Knapp. "Hawaii Supreme Court Revokes Construction Permit For Thirty Meter Telescope On Mauna Kea". Forbes.
  19. ↑ "Hawaii Court Rescinds Permit to Build Thirty Meter Telescope". The New York Times. 4 December 2015.
  20. ↑ "Indigenous land defenders protect sacred mountain Mauna Kea". IdleNoMore. idlenomore.ca. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  21. ↑ Moku Loa Group. "Mauna Kea".
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