Maunakea, sometimes written as Mauna Kea, stands at a staggering 13,803 ft. (4,207 meters) above sea level. Measuring from the ocean floor, it is the tallest mountain in the world, an additional 19,700 feet hidden below the waves. It is the highest point in all of Polynesia, and regarded by the Native Hawaiians in their cosmology as the navel of Hawai`i. Looking upon the summit, there is a rigid dichotomy between the natural world and the thirteen sleek white observatories sitting atop it.
The ongoing feud between Native Hawaiian protestors and TMT International Observatory, LLC has put Maunakea in the international spotlight in recent years. Natives are not protesting science, as the ancient Hawaiians have long revered and studied the stars and used them to navigate, but a push back against the environmental impact of a thirty meter telescope, as well as the lack of regard for the indigenous peoples and their sacred places.
We are not anti-science. We are against the building of anything 18 stories over our watershed, water aquifers, on our sacred mountain. It could have been anything; it just happens to be a telescope.”
— Pua Case
When referring to the mountain as Mauna Kea, it simplifies its complex history to a descriptor. The two words in `ōlelo Hawai`i (the Hawaiian language) come together to mean “white mountain”. The origin of the mountain’s name, however, originates from the Hawaiian god Wākea, who resides at the peak. Ka Mauna a Wākea translates to “the mountain of the Wākea”.
Polynesians, much like many other indigenous cultures, believed the highest points on land to be the most sacred, and mountains are often considered holy places, such as Haram esh-Sharif, or the Temple Mount of Jerusalem, and Jabal Mousa, otherwise known as Mount Sinai, are two such examples.
Similar to the Garden of Eden in Christianity, the summit is where the physical world meets the heavens. The region is called Wao Akua, the realm of the gods. Papahānaumoku, the Earth Mother, and Wākea, the Sky Father, come together in union here and created the Hawaiian archipelago. Hawai`i island is the origin of all life, hence why it is referred to as the piko. The definition behind piko translates directly to “navel” or “hole”, but in this situation, more accurately means center or origin, because Hawai`i Island is the first born of the two progenitors, and the origin of all life. Therefore, the mountain represents the Native Hawaiian’s ancestral ties to creation.
Not only is the summit home to the gods and na ‘aumakua (divine ancestors and protectors) according to Polynesian oral history, it is also a temple of worship. Because of this reason, the anti-TMT protests are peaceful but vigilant. The slopes are dotted with shrines and burials; small alters that are maintained by families, and larger ones that were maintained by a priesthood. Pu`u Mākanaka (literally “the hill of many people) is a confirmed cinder cone hill that serves as a burial location. The upper region of the mountain was only accessible to the highest ranking priests and chiefs, because only they understood the enormity of the place and its spiritual power.
It’s a temple. You can’t make war in a temple. You stand for righteousness. It demands aloha.
— Kealoha Pisciotta, president of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou
To indigenous peoples, sacredness is not a concept. It is living in a way that is one with worlds — both spiritual and natural. Aloha ‘aina, love for the land, is a central concept to Hawaiian culture and belief. This is in stark contrast to the very Western belief that land is inert and made to be conquered, which is the common way Genesis 1:26 is interpreted, that man has “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” Colonialism, which is rife with this belief system, even effects climate change.
On January 17, 1893, a group of Americans under the guidance of Sanfard Ballard Dole overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom. Dole — cousin of James Dole, founder of the pineapple company — was one of thirteen members on the Committee of Safety, which was the secret society responsible for planning and carrying out the overthrow of Queen Lili`uokalani. United States Minister to the Hawaiian Kingdom John Stevens, another member of the Committee of Safety, went on to legitimize Dole’s new enacted government and declared Hawai`i a protectorate. The Republic of Hawai`i was officially brought into the United States as the 50th state on August 21, 1959.
Since then, Hawaiian citizens have been regularly neglected. The native population has only made up less than 20% of the total population since the 1920s. As of now, only approximately 10% of the population is Native Hawaiian, according to the 2019 Census. Native Hawaiians continuously rank low in socioeconomic and poverty reports, even during times of low unemployment. In addition to that, sacred sites are bulldozed and desecrated, such as the Ku`emanu surf heiau (temple) near La`aloa Beach, colloquially known as Magic Sands on the Big Island. The United States military continuously used the entire island of Kaho`olawe as bombing practice until the 1990s. Finally, both the state and University of Hawai`i have admitted to mismanaging the summit as a historical site after the Office of Hawaiian Affairs took them to court, and all thirteen telescopes on the summit of Maunakea met opposition from Native Hawaiians.
The next observatory, the thirty meter telescope, will be 18-stories tall and 34,000 square feet. Its 492 mirrors will be able to capture pictures with better clarity than that of the Hubble Telescope. The construction will utilize five acres of mountain, set aside on the slopes, rather than the summit. TMT’s website claims that the observatory will only be visible from 14% of the island, and out of view from significant cultural sites.
Hawaiian’s argue, however, that the entire summit — and mountain itself — is sacred. Within the Maunakea Science Reserve, which encompasses 11,215 acres around the summit, has 263 historic properties. 141 of them are shrines, according to the 2010 Environmental Impact Statement for TMT. (See the entire statement here.) Three significant shrines are nearby, the closest being only 225 ft. away from TMT’s site, and the farthest being 1,600 ft. away. Even the slopes have hosted religious practices and traditions, studies of the sky, and the making of tools at a quarry.
A common refute, outside of TMT passing its environmental impact statement, regarding the decision to use Maunakea’s summit is that the closest well to extract underground water is 12 miles away on the Waiki’i Ranch. Native Hawaiians argue that TMT would endanger the largest source of fresh water on the island that’s nestled beneath the mountain. Many protestors don’t find the closest well being on Waiki`i Ranch incentive enough to drop the topic, however, because the environmental survey was conducted in 2010, and a decade has passed since then. Scientists are still learning about the underground water reservoir and the impact the observatories as a collective have on the mountain. Just in 2014, it was discovered that the aquifers are shallower and at a higher elevation than originally thought. It also mentions in the environmental impact statement that, while TMT alone will have a “limited” and “incremental” impact on the ecology and cultural practices, the collective presence of the telescopes has altered the mountain’s geology enough to have an adverse effect. Protestors are calling for another survey that takes new information into account.
TMT has crafted a “Plan B” that involves using Spain’s Canary Islands. Maunakea is their primary choice because of the high elevation, lack of light pollution, and dry climate, but the La Palma, the city of choice if Spain were chosen instead, would be comparable, despite some significant advantages Maunakea offers. Environmentalists in the Canary Islands, however, have also pushed back against the telescope, as well.
