Some native Hawaiians are mobilizing against the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope, drawing support from figures like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jason Momoa, Elizabeth Warren, and Tulsi Gabbard.
For astronomers, the clear, dry air of Mauna Kea, the tallest peak in Hawaii, provides the best place in the Northern Hemisphere, and perhaps on Earth, for observing the heavens. It is here, at nearly 14,000 feet, that a consortium led by Caltech and the University of California want to place a massive telescope, 18 stories tall, that would serve as a celestial time machine.
Through years of legal battles and protests, Native Hawaiians and their supporters pledged to stop the telescope project at all cost. On July 15, five days after Gov. David Ige announced that construction on Mauna Kea was imminent, opponents mobilized. They occupied the Mauna Kea Access Road, blocking equipment trucks from ascending to the summit and drawing massive support via social media.
Thirteen much smaller telescopes, many built without Native Hawaiian input, already stand on Mauna Kea. Opponents argue that they are not anti-science, but that they don’t want a telescope with the footprint of a Costco on their sacred mountain. Like the protests at Standing Rock over the Dakota Access Pipeline, the battle over Mauna Kea is part of a larger struggle over indigenous rights and the legacy of colonialism. Astronomers feel caught in the middle.
On a recent visit to the protest site at elevation 6,500 feet, it was hard to find a single piece of litter. Neat lines of portable toilets are pumped out daily, according to organizers. Gray water is stored in large containers and hauled away. A pig farmer picks up green waste from the fully stocked kitchen, for slop. Donated clothes and sleeping bags are folded and rolled up in shelves, sorted according to size. Drinking, smoking, even swearing are expressly forbidden.
“They were very kind,” said Wong-Wilson. “I understood that some of them were arresting their own family. And there was not an ugly word spoken. Not a hateful word spoken. We told them we loved them. We kissed them on the cheek.”
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