Mauna Kea, The Telescope Invasion

Mauna Kea, The Telescope Invasion

The Thirty Metre Telescope

Mauna Kea is a mountain on the island of Hawaii and it is considered sacred to the Kanaka Maoli people, the indigenous Hawaiians, currently, there are 13 structures located on the mountain, the limit that the University of Hawaii’s lease allows, but the university started construction of another telescope on the peak called the Thirty Metre Telescope which would make the construction of the telescope would be against the lease. The Kanaka Maoli people along with hundreds of more people blocked the access road to stop the construction and protested the use of their sacred land.

Why is the Thirty Metre Telescope an Issue for the Hawaiian People?

The Mauna Kea mountain is sacred to the Kanaka Maoli people and is a location for ceremonies take place, with more and more structures being built on the land it is seen as less sacred and safe for Traditional practices, and when all theses structures are allowed to be built, it only signals that more can come. Mauna Kea is regarded as a shrine for worship, home to the gods and Piko of Hawaii, which is the Hawaiian word for where life begins, the word also represents peace, tranquillity and spirituality, a strong sense of regrowth and new beginnings. So the mountain is very important to the indigenous Hawaiian people, so the construction of these telescopes are seen as desecration and disregard of the Hawaiian culture. A huge point that rather protesters make for the TMT to not be constructed is the lease that the University of Hawaii have from the limits thirteen structures, the astronomers and the university say that there are only twelve on the mountain, but they, group a few arrays as one structure, but the protesters see it as more than one structure, also Mauna Kea is the preferred site of the Thirty Metre Telescope for its lack of both smog and light pollution, but the Thirty Metre Telescope has a second site that they can build on where there is no cultural impact for building it.

What is the Land Lease that The University of Hawaii?, and How does it affect the issue with the TMT?

The lease was issued to the University of Hawaii on June 21st, 1968, by the Board of Land and Natural Resources of the State of Hawaii, the lease has a termination date of December 31st, 2033, giving the university the land for 65 years. The Board of Land and Natural Resources of the State of Hawaii was a board made by the US government to have control over the land and resources of the Hawaiian island, the board is not made or run by the Hawaiian Kingdom, yet they can do what they want with the land. With the board that is controlled by the US government and not the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling over the lands of the indigenous Hawaiians, this issue with Mauna Kea can be seen as a continuation of the colonization that has been going on throughout the history of the US. There is also a problem with the University’s lease, it is technically invalid because the US never properly acquired the island of Hawaii, so that would mean the US doesn’t have the authority to just give parts of the island away.

Why does the US say they have a claim to Hawaii? And how is it wrong?

The United States says that the island of Hawaii was ceded by the Hawaiian Kingdom, which means that the Hawaiian Kingdom, gave the Island to the United States, but all the evidence that the US has is all one-sided, meaning that the only evidence is coming from the United States, nothing from Hawaii saying that they were ceded. When the state of Texas was taken by the United States from the Mexican government, there was a treaty made with both parties present saying that Texas was ceded and that Texas is now owned by the United States, but that is not true for Hawaii, the US government says they made a treaty, they released The Joint Resolution of Annexation, which is not a treaty, it is a municipal law from congress merely saying that cession took place, even when the newspapers were released in Hawaii, saying a treaty was made and the island of Hawaii was now a part of the United States, but the paper said there was a treaty without showing any treaty, so it was all just the government saying that it happened. So because the United States isn’t the owner of Hawaii, it is then classified as an occupying power which means they must follow international law when it comes to an occupying power, one of which is that they must follow the laws that the land they are occupying have in place, so if the United States is an occupying power, then it is against international law for them to give away parts of the Hawaiian island.

How are the Hawaiian people defending their land?

The Hawaiian people, both indigenous and non-indigenous, are protesting the construction of the Thirty Metre Telescope, by blocking the one access road to the summit of Mauna Kea, where the telescopes are located, stopping construction workers and equipment from passing. For a time they also blocked the workers from the other telescopes from passing, until a deal was made by the workers and the protesters on the 10th of august, where the workers of the other telescopes were allowed to return to work, the deal also included construction of a temporary roadway across the hardened lava around the camp, and law enforcement will give protesters a list ahead of time detailing all vehicles going up, to show that they are not there for the Thirty Metre Telescope and are just going to work, so with this deal, the protesters are able to head home and don’t need to stand on the road anymore, but the truce ends in late February and no one doubts that the protesters will return, a protester known as Uncle Sparky said: “If we put out a call, 1000 people would be here in an hour.”. The protesters have also gone to court to try and stop the construction, but so far all attempts have failed and the courts have sided with the construction of the TMT. The protest has also happened in other parts of the US with protests happening in Las Vegas, in front of the famous welcome to Vegas sign, and protesters at Union Square in New York.