Mauna Kea & Defending the Sacred Against Scientific Colonialism
From the Center for Racial Justice at UC Santa Cruz:
Dear friends, comrades, & community,
Thank you to those who were able to make it to our series of events around protecting Mauna Kea earlier this month. If you missed it, you can watch some of it here. One of the most sacred Native Hawaiian sites, Mauna Kea is the piko (umbilical cord) connecting the islands to the heavens, the dwelling place of deities, and a place of worship. This sacred landscape faces ongoing expropriation for the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)—a project in which UC Santa Cruz is profoundly implicated.
We were honored with the presence of Mauna Kea protectors from Hilo, Hawai‘i, as well as respected teachers and members of the Santa Cruz hula community, Kumu Mehana Thomas and Kūhai Hālau O Mehanakealohakalaua’eikapoli Pā ‘Ōlapa Kahiko.
Hāwane Rios, an award-winning singer, songwriter and a celebrated haku mele (song and chant composer)
Hopoelehua Pa’a Makakau, a Kanaka ‘Ōiwi cultural bearer, aloha ‘āina (land protector), hula practitioner, and skilled multi-disciplinary hana no’eau (cultural) artist.
Amber Espinosa-Jones, the award-winning producer of the feature film Standing Above the Clouds
If you missed it, you can now watch the Q&A with visiting Mauna Kea Protectors, facilitated by Kanaka Maoli/Native Hawaiian professors, Drs. Iokepa Casumbal-Salazar and Nicole Furtado on our YouTube: Watch Now
Learning More | Resources & What You Can Do To Help
UC Santa Cruz is complicit with the TMT project as the central coordinator for the University of California's involvement with the TMT. A total of thirteen telescopes sit at the summit of Mauna Kea: among them are UCSC’s twin telescopes inside the Keck Observatory.
Mauna Kea Education and Awareness
We've added learning resources, including fact-sheets, articles, and stories to this page on our website. Special thanks to Mauna Kea Education and Awareness for providing us with their learning resources. You can also visit their website here.
Standing Above the Clouds | Short Film
Learn more about the short film here. You can use your public library Kanopy connection or valid school ID/email to watch it.
Want to help? Sign this petition! Say no to the TMT and make your voice heard.
