The University of Hawai’i (UH) has overdeveloped Mauna Kea in violation of previous management plans and Kanaka Maoli religious beliefs. Now it seeks to build the Pan-STARRS, an Air Force telescope, and a giant Thirty Meter Telescope. Furthermore, UH is seeking to become the managing entity for Mauna Kea, which would be the proverbial fox guarding the henhouse.
The Hawaii Tribune Herald reported on recent hearings. Here’s an excerpt:
“The state may not give the university something the university is not authorized to do,” said Kealoha Pisciotta, president of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, one of the plaintiffs in the outrigger telescope case. She struck out at a proposal to manage public access to the mountain.
“Mauna Kea is a temple. It’s created by Akua for the people,” Pisciotta said. “The university may not close the doors to the temple. You are not in control. We are not in control. Akua is in control. And quite frankly, I am totally opposed to that. How dare you. Would you close the doors to a church? No. You may not do that to Mauna Kea either. And who does the university think they are to make people go to classes? The public is not the problem on Mauna Kea. Overdevelopment is, and you are the developer (a reference to the university).”
The article also quotes Moanikeala Akaka:
“Mauna Kea belongs to the people of Hawaii,” said Moanikeala Akaka, a former Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee. “It does not belong to UH or Ku’iwalu to use, abuse or control.”
“As the court has ruled, there has already been negligence, environmentally and culturally, on the summit of Mauna Kea,” she said.
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