| 71.096°. They were just eight of us there, yet we represented all those people who would have been willing to lay their bodies down on the ‘aina, our land, in protection of our Mauna. It shouldn’t just be assuaging some kind of settler guilt. Today's Paper For Hawaiians, Mauna Kea is more than just a mountain. The police officers involved were not paid. July 19, 2019 Read More It reminded me of Dr. Trask and all of the other wāhine koa, or strong women, who have also devoted their lives to this work. Once you know how much power is in your community, how can you look away from that? The rise of a … One Way Forward It remains at a standstill, and no end is in sight. There’s no separating America from white supremacy, from patriarchy, from violent, extractive capitalism and genocide. All rights reserved. So they’re upset. The appellate court’s opinion said officers from the Honolulu and Maui police departments were at the demonstrations at Ferreira’s request and did not violate Hawaii statutes regarding police pursuing investigations in other counties. Native people are not gone. If built, the TMT would be the largest visible-light telescope on the mountain, dwarfing the 13 other telescopes already occupying Mauna Kea’s slopes. So, when Haunani says that we are not American, she is evoking that entire history. Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio: For those who are new to these issues, there is this sense that 2019 just popped off out of nowhere. What has been the political and economic transformation of the land that you’re in? The state Intermediate Court of Appeals issued an opinion last week affirming the actions of Chief Paul Ferreira took to maintain order during the demonstrations that blocked an access road to Mauna Kea, West Hawaii Today reported. For all of the people that say get over it or that the overthrow was 100 years ago, they don’t understand growing up with the deep loss of being in your own home, where you and all of your ancestors before you understand that something huge was taken away. It’s a moment that I have seen through the countless other images of that day and has for me become one of the symbols signifying this movement. If built, the TMT would be the largest visible-light telescope on the mountain, dwarfing the 13 other telescopes already occupying Mauna Kea’s slopes. The activists were protesting the proposed construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) atop Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano on the island of Hawai‘i valued for decades by the astronomical community for its unhampered view of the universe. The directors of an existing telescope on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea evacuated employees Tuesday amid growing protests that have blocked an access road to the construction site of a … Day 5 of the Protest against TMT on mauna kea. And is tourism the only outlet that we have to offer? Arrested protesters chant before police remove them from the summit of Mauna Kea on April 2, 2015. Mauna Kea. This is a conversation about the long-term impact of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Hawaii County Deputy Corporation Counsel Kaena Horowitz said the appellate court ruling confirmed Ferreira acted properly. Osorio: What I’m going to say probably won’t land well for a lot of people, but America, as most folks envision it, doesn’t really exist. There was never a treaty of annexation, which means Hawai‘i has been an illegally occupied nation-state since the kingdom was overthrown in 1893. Lacy: It means that I’m part of a dialectic of a lot of other people who have told stories about our community and given me the opportunity to build on their work. So, I come from a long line of people telling stories about our community. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity. It’s important to remember that context when we have these conversations, especially when the scientific community says that this telescope is essential toward their vision of progress. In August 2019,  the Makaliʻi ’Ohana—based on Hawaiʻi island but with ties around the world—brought offerings and sung songs in honor of the Mauna and all who stand to protect her. What’s my relationship to those people?”. A decade earlier, at just 18 years old, Osorio was heralded as a voice for the next generation of Native Hawaiians. send us an email. But as you started filming, activists began to protest on Mauna Kea, Jamaica being one of them. Mauna Loa Road Closures Begins March 9, 2021 County Releases Kīlauea Recovery Plan December 6, 2020 Hawai‘i County Awarded Grant to Aid in Eruption Recovery January 23, 2021 Increased traffic enforcement on Daniel K. Inouye Highway by officers assigned to the blockade and encampment at the access road resulted in 8,234 citations and 78 people arrested for 143 offenses. I don’t think so. That was when I decided that if the call went out again, I would be there. Saying a provisional government had been formed. The media has the power to influence how people respond to things. By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Feb. 2, 2021, at 9:38 a.m. More. There is this really powerful moment in the film of Jamaica huddled on the cold asphalt, chained to a cattle guard, in an effort to block the construction. I wish it had come sooner, but I’m grateful to know that we’re breaking into these spaces and that more of us will be there and should be there. If we have Hawaiians taking ownership and authorship over stories, we are taking the power back into our own hands to say, “This is who we are.” The moniker isn’t being handed to us. Kim requested that the protest camp move to the sides of Mauna Kea Access Road to allow public access, Wong-Wilson, one of the leaders of the protesters, said in a video posted to social media. To some Native Hawaiians, the state's tallest mountain Mauna Kea represents the realm of the Earth's creator and the birthplace of the Hawaiian people. We had the support of Heather Giugni, an incredible Native Hawaiian filmmaker who has invested so much of her work and her life to telling stories by and about our community. It’s a point that continues to be brought home each time an Indigenous community takes a stand against environmentally harmful development, like what we witnessed on Mauna Kea. That was a really heavy thing, this constant reminder that being Hawaiian means to not matter to so many people who have so much power over us and our land. Friday, April 9, 2021 | We talk in the film about how Hawaiians aren’t anti-telescope; we certainly aren’t anti-science. Of which made up of both Hawaiians and mainlanders. You ... Get the latest email updates about the coronavirus outbreak — it's FREE! Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii that is highly sacred to Native Hawaiians, and is an integral part of Hawaiian traditions. That it played no role in the provisional government. I was reading in a history book, the Bayonet constitution of 1887 took away the powers of the Hawaiian Monarchy and gave it to the U.S. government by way of King David Kalakaua’s signature on it. This was going to be the movement of our generation. The eight activists—or kia‘i (protectors), as they are often called—were there to make a statement. 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