Observatory, Mountain, Temple
Not many people outside of Hawaii or the astronomy community know about the controversy surrounding the Thirty Meter Telescope being built on Mauna Kea. Most people probably don’t even know why it is controversial. So, let’s start with that, Mauna Kea is a burial site and sacred place to Native Hawaiians. The Thirty Meter Telescope would be the 14th observatory built on Mauna Kea. You might be wondering why I know and care about this discussion. I am in a unique place that I feel allows me to understand and empathize with both sides, and while I’m not here to tell you what to think or convince you to agree with me. I would like to share my story with you and hopefully give you a glimpse into a different way of thinking.
For the sake of transparency, I’ll start by telling you who I am. I am a senior at the University of Washington (UW) majoring in Neuroscience. My mother is Indian and Scotch-Irish, while my father is Colombian and Chicano. I wasn’t born in Hawaii, but I grew up on Kauai. Both my parents are doctors, I’ve always had a passion for STEM, and we aren’t particularly religious. Being raised on Kauai I developed a respect for the natural world and a belief that it is our responsibility to take care of it. Being surrounded by Hawaiian culture has given me an understanding of it. I’m not Hawaiian but, I am firmly against the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea.
The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) being built on Mauna Kea will be the largest telescope in the world. It’s location on the summit of Hawaii’s largest mountain will give us an unprecedented view into the cosmos. The site is ideal because Mauna Kea stands above the clouds, has little to no light pollution, low humidity, and is situated close to the equator. Scientist boast that we will be able to see galaxies form near the edge of the observable universe. The complex will minimize power consumption by making use of solar water, and electricity coupled with energy-saving power and communication devices. The complex will leave zero waste on the mountain and will create no substantial adverse impact on existing natural resources within the surrounding area. To lessen the already low impact of the TMT, 3 of the 13 existing observatories will be dismantled within a decade. The TMT has and will continue to fund programs that help Hawaii students master STEM and move Hawaii’s economy towards higher paying science and technology jobs. Further the telescope will continue the legacy of Hawaiian astronomy that allowed Polynesian to cross the Pacific and settle the Hawaiian Island chain.
The construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope has been mired in protests and political trash-talk. Protests took place in in 2014, and 2015 halting construction, and prompting the Hawaii Supreme Court to invalidate building permits for the project, after ruling that the board had not followed due process. On October 30th of 2018 the Hawaii Supreme Court approved resumption of construction. But why was there such an uproar in the first place?
To explain this, we must understand the significance of Mauna Kea to the Hawaiian people. The name Mauna Kea is frequently translated to “White Mountain”. Hawaiian is a language is very contextual, many words have multiple meanings depending on context and combination with other words. Hawaiians have many names for the Mauna Kea. Mauna Kea, among them are Mauna a Wākea, Mauna Akea, Ka Piko a Wākea. Mauna a Wākea means “the mountain of Wākea”, Wākea is the Sky Father in the Hawaiian religion Wākea marries Papahānaumoku or Earth Mother, forever connecting the earth to the sky. The point of this connection is the peak of Mauna Kea, called Ka Piko a Wākea. Piko is often translated to mean navel, or belly button. Hawaiians put more importance around the navel than western cultures do. A piko is not only where life begins, but connection to your ancestors, a symbol of purity and healing. Officially Mauna Kea is acknowledged as a burial site. Hawaiians buried their highest born and most sacred people on Mauna Kea. When an Ali’i or noble died they weren’t just buried. A person deep within the deceased’s trust was tasked with hiding their bones, and to keep the secret would then commit suicide. So simply calling Mauna Kea a burial site doesn’t do it justice. Hawaiians put a lot of effort and intention in trying to keep these bones undisturbed. Building on and digging up these bones must be an unbearable desecration. Mauna Kea isn’t just a burial site though, it is also a temple, a place to be connected to nature and ancestors. It is one of, if not the most sacred site in Hawaii, the point at which the Earth is connected to the sky, the belly button of the world. Mauna Kea doesn’t belong to people, it belongs to Wākea. Mauna Kea can’t belong to anyone, because it belongs to all of us. To call Mauna Kea simply “sacred” or “a burial site” is reductionist. To Hawaiians keeping Mauna Kea pristine is valuable than giving them scholarships or promises of future high paying jobs. An equivalent would be building an observatory next to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, or the Tomb of Jesus, or the Dome of the Rock.
When we examine the significance of Mauna Kea to Hawaiians the controversy around the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope starts to make sense. Protests and controversy are nothing new. When the first telescope was built in 1964 there was just as much uproar. But then even fewer people listened. We as a nation have a history of mistreating and ignoring native peoples. We dismiss their arguments as being irrational, only to later after the damage is done “realize” our mistake. Then we apologize and make no effort to otherwise fix the injustice. I believe the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope and the 13 other telescopes on Mauna Kea is something that we will eventually apologize for.
Some among the advocates for the TMT dismiss Hawaiian protestors as superstitious, myopic, uneducated, and angry over a century old injustice. This frame allows them to ignore arguments and concerns because they are being made by people who are ignorant and irrational. Hawaiians are of course just ignorant savages, unable to grasp the significance of such a project. This is story echoed across generations, and our country. A majority subjects its will on a minority. People let it happen because they aren’t part of that minority.
When we look back at shameful moments in our nation’s history the mistakes seem obvious and we tell ourselves things like that couldn’t happen today. We have the constitution to protect us, people would speak out or protest, etc. The fact is that we haven’t changed the way we do things. We continue to justify injustice. We don’t acknowledge our mistakes until it’s too late. Desecrating Mauna Kea was a mistake, but we don’t have to continue to do so. We can change the way we interact with marginalized peoples within our country. To begin, imagine the roles reversed, imagine it’s your temple, imagine calling out in aguish for something you hold dear and being called sentimental or ignorant, imagine being fined when speaking up for yourself. If we apply more empathy in our interactions which each other we can stop doing things that we are ashamed.
