Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano and stands upon Hawaii Island at 13,796 ft. and is known to the Hawaiian people as Mauna a Wākea, for Wākea, the sky father. The peaks of the island of Hawaii are considered to be sacred and during ancient times, only the high-chiefs were allowed to visit its peak.
Today, Mauna Kea’s summit with its dry environment, high altitude, and stable airflow is known as one of the best sites for astronomical research and is becoming one of the most controversial as well.
Since the construction of road access to the summit, 11 countries have funded the construction of 13 telescopes who currently sit on Mauna Kea which were highly opposed by Native Hawaiians.
Now there is a new face making it’s way onto the summit.
The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) was approved in 2013 and will be the largest telescope ever built with the construction taking place on sacred lands with endangered species and ongoing cultural practices, and is receiving resistance from a grassroots movement group.
Kaho’okahi Kanuha, 27 years of age and a Pre-school teacher at Pūnana Leo has been part of the TMT protest since the groundbreaking in October 2014 and has camped up at Mauna Kea since March 25 until April 2 when he was one of thirty-one protestors who were arrested.
Daniel Ito, of Mana Magazine, interviewed Kanuha shared his words with the people:
“I’ve been up here for one week in 29-degree weather and you’re not just going to step to the side when someone comes and asks you to move,” he explained on Friday morning. “We’re here for a reason and I think the awareness that was raised [on Thursday] was unreal. It’s been plastered all over the place and it’s given us a positive image because the way we handled ourselves and even the police: they were pretty maika‘i in the way they acted towards us. I don’t agree with their actions, but the way they carried out was kind of respectful.”
There is Strength in Struggle
Gandhi said, “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” I’ve been following the protests of TMT and it’s been inspiring to see the conduct and respect done by both sides of the party.
On April 2, a blockade was created by the “protectors of Mauna Kea” who were given notification by police that if they did not clear the way, there will be arrests. With their indomitable will, the people did not move. During the arrests of the 31 protestors, there was a respectful exchange of words between the people and officers.
Keānuenue Kaholi Rodan, age 26 and a tour guide, shared the group’s philosophy of “Kapu Aloha” during their protests at Mauna Kea, “Now it’s time for us as a people to show where aloha really comes from…It comes from unconditional love, us loving the people that are desecrating our mountain just as much as our brother and sister. We’re not angry Hawaiians anymore; we are Hawaiians that are proud and happy. We have aloha for everything and everybody. Everybody deserves aloha.”
This reminded me of what Martin Luther King Jr said, “Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.” And in Hawaii, it’s Aloha.
When you fight struggle with struggle, you only make the struggle and resistance stronger. It’s the value of ho’onalu, to be like a wave and go with the flow. Many think this value says to be passive and let things go, but in sight of struggle it takes a much more different approach.
[su_pullquote align=”left” class=””]We’re not angry Hawaiians anymore; we are Hawaiians that are proud and happy.[/su_pullquote]Think of when a wave comes at you. You don’t simply run in the wave without expecting any resistance. When you do, you place struggle against struggle. The wave wanting to move in and you wanting to move out.
But what happens when the resistance and struggle coming in is much more stronger? Chaos and pain for the struggle going outwards. Maybe you can go over the way, or even under, or maybe you can catch the wave and go with the flow. After, you can regroup and see if you can go out just a little further until another wave comes us. Each time regrouping and going just a bit more out than the time before.
The Strength is in the Struggle
Ho’onalu teaches the value of patience and perseverance. After the arrests and continued protests happening at Mauna Kea, the strength has become much stronger. The support has swept across the islands and even over the waters in support of the protests against the TMT construction.
Joseph Campbell said, “It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment—not discouragement—you will find the strength there. Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life.”
What started off as a group who felt “what could ordinary people do” has transformed itself into a movement that has brought people from all over the islands to add to the “Kapu Aloha” resistance. As more support and strength comes, there is hope to overcome the large waves that come rolling in.
Maybe the halt of the construction and desecration of sacred lands will be stopped, or maybe the resistance will be too much to overcome.
But what you must realize is that in order to become stronger, you must go through struggles. Although the outcome may not be what you were hoping for, what matters most is the strength you take away with you as you embark on the next journey.
Aloha Mauna a Wākea, and Be Kū Hawaii!
More Information of Mauna Kea Protests:
Mauna a Wākea
After the Arrests: Protests Continue on Mauna Kea
Faces of the Resistance
Mahalo to Mana Magazine for covering the story
