![]() Mauna Kea is a sacred place for Goodyear-Kaʻōpua. She also shared tense moments from the front lines of the protest and criticized the ethical standards of research for the project. Goodyear-Kaʻōpua shared three reasons behind why she thinks construction of the TMT is unfathomable. She also a fierce protector of her mauna (mountain) and ‘āina (land). She’s Kanaka Maoli and an associate professor at the University of Hawai ʻi at Mānoa. Goodyear-Kaʻōpua was one of the first to stand arm-in-arm with other wahine (women) to protect elders from heavily armed officers. “The kupuna (elders) there had made a line and wanted to be a first line of defense.” “While we were there, there was a gathering of hundreds of Kanaka and supporters at the base of the road,” Goodyear-Kaʻōpua told National Observer after leadership between opposing camps found a temporary truce after a week of peaceful disruption. The protectors spent over 11 hours on the cattle guard on the first day. Supporters of the $1.4 billion TMT, such as the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), which provided funding of up to $243.5 million over 10 years, say the massive telescope will lead researchers deeper into space than ever before.īut the question continued to be raised is: at what cost? ![]() It’s a chapter in a long, rich history of Hawai ʻian independence and resistance to the settler state’s illegal overthrow of the kingdom 126 years ago. The growing movement at Mauna Kea and across Hawai ʻi is the latest act of Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawai ʻian) self-determination and sovereignty. What started as a small contingent of kia ’i (guardians) standing together to protect their sacred Mauna Kea - a dormant volcano and, geographically speaking, the main watershed area for the island - from the development of a Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) has escalated into a land protection movement beyond Hawai ʻi’s islands. It was cold, dark and all eight people were willing to risk arrest for their actions. This article was originally published by the National Observer and is republished here with permission.Īround three in the morning on July 15, Noelani Goodyear-Kaʻōpua, her partner and six other protectors chained themselves to the cattle guard at the Mauna Kea access road. To have this thrown in at last little second is a very disheartening thing.Like Tweet Email Print Subscribe Donate Now They've been open to the process for seven years. I don’t see where there’s a downside since I believe the TMT project guys have been culturally respectful. "But in the Old Culture there were ways to get around restrictive rules. "I understand the need for cultural sensitivity to special places and the Old Culture," he said. Coleman is himself a native Hawaiian, but in 2015 he told Forbes he wholeheartedly supported the endeavor and believed the Thirty Meter Telescope project is of immense importance to the state's future. Paul Coleman at the University of Hawaii, who passed away in 2018. One another side of the issue was astronomer Dr. Fair market is definitely more than a million." Not All Native Hawaiians Oppose The Telescope "You can't pay rent on whatever you want. "So while TMT is proffering this money, it isn’t in compliance with the law," she said. ![]() There's an exemption in the law for the University of Hawaii, which manages the telescopes on the mountain, but Pisciotta believes that shouldn't apply to the governments of China, Canada, Japan and others who are part of the project. Her group argues that the the law requires projects to pay fair market lease value for the land they use. That said, she rejects the idea that the economic plans being offered by the TMT project are as valuable as its leaders claim. It's the abode of the gods and goddesses, and you have to go there with strong reverence." It's a place where significant ancestors are buried, so it’s a burial ground. For Hawaiians, it's where our origin story begins. "This is not only an ecologically sensitive area," she told me. In response to the controversy, the TMT has also written a website which they believe addresses many of the concerns about the project.įor Kealoha Pisciotta, the president of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, which opposes building the telescope, the issues go beyond the ones which the TMT project has presented. So the business community sees TMT as a great kickstarter for high tech business on the island." Hawaii island is not Oahu - it doesn’t have high tech business. "Astronomy puts a lot into the local economy. ![]() "We have a lot of support – almost unanimous – from the business community," Dawson said. The Telescope Has Wide Business Support, But Protesters Have Both Economic And Non-Economic Concerns ![]()
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