Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2022)
The BulleTin • Sunday, auguST 21, 2022 A3 HAWAII | SACRED MOUNTAIN Hawaii seeks end to strife over astronomy BY AUDREY MCAVOY associated Press HONOLULU — For more than 50 years, telescopes and the needs of astronomers have dominated the summit of Mauna Kea, a mountain sacred to Native Hawaiians that’s also one of the finest places in the world to study the night sky. That’s now changing with a new state law saying Mauna Kea must be protected for fu- ture generations and that sci- ence must be balanced with culture and the environment. Native Hawaiian cultural ex- perts will have voting seats on a new governing body, instead of merely advising the sum- mit’s managers as they do now. The shift comes after thou- sands of protesters camped on the mountain three years ago to block the construction of a state-of-the-art observatory, jolting policymakers and as- tronomers into realizing the status quo had to change. There’s a lot at stake: Native Hawaiian advocates want to protect a site of great spiritual importance. Astronomers hope they’ll be able to renew leases for state land underneath their observatories, due to expire in 11 years, and continue making revolutionary scientific discov- eries for decades to come. Busi- ness and political leaders are eager for astronomy to support well-paying jobs in a state that has long struggled to diversify its tourism-dependent econ- omy. To top if off, the new au- thority may offer a first- in-the-world test case for whether astronomers can find a way to respectfully and re- sponsibly study the universe from Indigenous and cultur- ally significant lands. “We’ve been here for centu- ries. We are not gone; we are still here. And we have knowl- edge that would produce a feasible management solution that would be more inclusive,” said Shane Palacat-Nelson, a Native Hawaiian who helped Caleb Jones/aP The sun sets behind telescopes July 14, 2019, at the summit of the Big Island’s Mauna Kea in Hawaii. draft a report that laid the foundation for the new law. At issue is the summit of Mauna Kea, which sits 13,803 feet above sea level. In 1968, the state gave the University of Hawaii a 65-year lease for land that the school subleases to leading global research insti- tutions in exchange for a share of observation time. Astronomers like Mauna Kea’s summit because its clear skies, dry air and limited light pollution make it the best place to study space from the Northern Hemisphere. Its dozen huge telescopes have played key roles in advancing humanity’s understanding of the universe, including mak- ing some of the first images of planets outside our solar system. Astronomer Andrea Ghez used one to prove the ex- istence of a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, for which she shared the 2020 Nobel Prize in physics. But the telescopes have also changed the summit land- scape and have increasingly upset Native Hawaiians who view the place as sacred. The 2019 protests by people call- ing themselves “kia’i,” or pro- tectors of the mountain, were aimed at stopping the con- struction of the biggest and most advanced observatory yet: the $2.65 billion Thirty Meter Telescope, or TMT, backed by the University of California and other institu- tions. Law enforcement arrested 38 elders, mostly Native Ha- waiians, which only attracted more protesters. Police with- drew months later after TMT said it wouldn’t move for- ward with construction right away. Protesters stayed put but closed camp in March 2020 amid concerns about COVID-19. What steps to take? The episode pushed law- makers to seek a new ap- proach. The result is the new gov- erning body, the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority, which will have a board of 11 voting members. The governor will appoint eight. Gov. David Ige hasn’t set a date for announcing his nominees, who will go before the state Senate for confirma- tion. He said more than 30 have applied. Palacat-Nelsen said tradi- tional Native Hawaiian knowl- edge could help the authority determine how large a foot- print manmade structures like telescopes should have at the summit. “Do we take heavy steps? Do we take light steps? When do we take steps? What sea- sons do we take steps?” Pala- cat-Nelsen said. “All that type of knowledge is embedded in the majority of our stories, our traditional stories that were handed down.” The board will have this ex- pertise because one member of the authority must be a rec- ognized practitioner of Native Hawaiian culture and another a direct descendant of a Na- tive Hawaiian practitioner of Mauna Kea traditions. Central to the Native Ha- waiian view of Mauna Kea is the idea that the summit is where gods dwell and hu- mans aren’t allowed to live. A centuries-old chant says the mountain is the oldest child of Wakea and Papawalinu’u, the male and female sources of all life. To this day, the mountain draws clouds and rainfall that feeds forests and fresh water to communities on Hawaii’s Big Island. Lawmakers drafted the law after a working group of Na- tive Hawaiian cultural experts, protesters, observatory work- ers and state officials met to discuss Mauna Kea. Their re- port, which dedicated a large chunk to the historical and cultural significance of the mountain, formed the founda- tion of the new law. Several kia’i who served on that working group sup- port the authority. The House speaker has nominated one kia’i leader for the board. But some longtime tele- scope opponents are critical, creating questions about how broad the authority’s commu- nity support will be. Kealoha Pisciotta, who has been part of legal challenges against TMT and other obser- vatory proposals since 1998, said Native Hawaiians should at minimum have an equal standing on the board. “You don’t have a real say. It’s designed to create an il- lusion of having consent and representation in a situation where we really don’t,” said Pi- sciotta, a spokesperson for the groups Mauna Kea Hui and Mauna Kea Aina Hou. Lawmakers said the pres- sure to address Hawaii’s tele- scope standoff isn’t just com- ing from within the state but also from the U.S. astronomy community. State Rep. David Tarnas pointed to a report by a com- mittee of astronomers from across the country declaring there’s a need to develop a new model of collaborative deci- sion-making together with Indigenous and local commu- nities. “This is not just the Big Is- land issue, it’s not just a state issue, but I believe it’s a global issue,” said state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim. “I believe that the world is watching to see how we deal with this.” The TMT matter, mean- while, remains unresolved: Its backers still want to build on Mauna Kea, though they have selected a site in Spain’s Ca- nary Islands as a backup. The head of the University of Hawaii’s astronomy pro- gram said the authority could help his own institution if it “stabilizes the whole situation” for Mauna Kea astronomy. But Doug Simons said he’s worried the authority might not get up and running in time to renew the summit master lease and subleases. The master lease requires that all existing telescopes be decommissioned and their sites restored to their origi- nal state by 2033 if the state doesn’t authorize an extension. Simons said it will take at least five or six years to dis- mantle the telescopes and as- sociated infrastructure. That means new lease arrange- ments must be ready by 2027 or the observatories will have to begin winding down. “There’s no obvious way around this,” Simons said. He said he’s pressing for the au- thority to be established as soon as possible to maximize time for negotiations and in- evitable legal challenges. Rich Matsuda, who works for W.M. Keck Observatory and served on the working group, urged the eventual board members to avoid being “stakeholders with narrow in- terests just trying to ensure that they get their piece of the pie.” Tensions over telescope construction, he said, caused people to lock down and avoid discussing difficult issues sur- rounding Mauna Kea. The new law’s prioritization of the mountain’s well being may al- ter that, he said. “My hope is that this gives us a chance, if we do it right, to change that dynamic,” Mat- suda said.
