Hello everyone, I’m wanting to express my frustrations about the plans of wanting to build a 30 meter telescope (TMT) on Mauna Kea - a dormant volcano on the big island of Hawai’i. The land that the TMT is being built on is sacred land to the kanaka, Hawaiian people. Our ancestors have been buried here, the ‘aina (land) is part of our culture, our heritage. To take that away is to take away a whole society’s culture, to ignore their way of life. Those who live on the big island take their children there and show them that by taking care of the ‘aina the ‘aina will take care of you.

The TMT will be built on over 5 acres of land. There will be the 30 meter telescope that is 18 stories high, a parking lot, an office building, and all the road construction that they will need to build for this telescope to be reached. And that’s just on the surface. They will also have to dig below the surface to provide a waste storage for all the waste and chemicals they will utilize.

While I’m all for learning new things and expanding our knowledge, I’m against destroying our lands and hurting our animals. Our knowledge should not depend on the desecration of Mother Earth.

And while I may not be living on the islands anymore, I do stand with my kanaka. We should all stand for our ‘aina. By taking care of our lands, our lands will take care of us. And I’m very disappointed that this issue isn’t as widely known as it should be. this has been an issue since 2014 and yet not a lot of people know. Mahalo for listening.