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Native Hawaiians have a long history of defeats on their lands. This dates back to the late 1800s when white sugar producers overthrew the kingdom of Hawaii. Today, the lines of battle are traced around Mauna Kea, a sacred mountain that eventually attracted Polynesians to Hawaii, according to folklore. The ancestors are buried there and the mountain itself is considered an ancestor.
"They want their way, and they want us out of their way."
Now a controversial state-of-the-art telescope is about to break through the slopes of Mauna Kea. Last Tuesday, the Hawaiian Supreme Court decided to approve the construction of the thirty-meter telescope (TMT), an observatory that would have the ability to look further into the universe than any other current telescope. His creation could literally transform our understanding of the world. But this is only possible if the members of the community allow it, and the opponents do not plan to move back easily.
"We are in the background," said Earther Hanalei Fergerstrom, an indigenous Hawaiian priest who opposed the project that testified against the project in court. "The last thing we have is our sacred space, and that's where we have to take a stand. Period. Whatever the cost, it will cost – and we are ready to exhaust those costs. "
This battle has been going on for a long time. The TMT lawsuits began in 2013 and in 2015, protesters managed to suspend construction for two months when the telescope teams tried to break the ground. At the time, the authorities made more than 30 arrests, according to Business Insider.
Opponents won another victory in late 2015 when TMT's first building permit was revoked by the state. But last week's court decision to maintain a new permit issued in 2017 has revived the project.
Fergerstrom said opponents would not hesitate to re-engage in nonviolent direct action. The organizers of the big island of Hawaii, where Mauna Kea is, have already heard Hawaiians from other islands who plan to go to the mountains to protect her.
"We are always looking for a way to humbly respond to that, but the state does not intend to do anything better," Fergerstrom told Earther. "They want their way, and they want us out of their way."
Many Hawaiian natives have a special relationship with the mountain. Not only are the ancestors buried here, but the high priests come here to pray. Today, the mountain holds a number of 'Ahusreligious altars made of stone. But this is not a fight between science and religion. The opponents of the TMT are unhappy that the The summit, considered one of the best places in the world for astronomy, already houses 13 observatories.
These opponents see in the construction of another observatory a problem of territorial sovereignty. And some astronomers who would benefit from the creation of the telescope sympathize with this argument.
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, a cosmologist doing postdoctoral research at the University of Washington, thinks this telescope will help her in her work, but she also recognizes how this judicial decision undermines the ability of Aboriginal peoples to fight for their sovereignty – as well as the scientific community. ability to stand out from his colonial past.
"This thing will make them lose their culture."
"Science has actively and for a long time benefited from colonialism, and the scientific community has often voluntarily participated in colonialism, ranging from the acceleration of the slave trade in the Atlantic to the construction of telescopes on sacred lands without prior authorization of indigenous peoples, "wrote Prescod-Weinstein. to Earther in an email. "A legal decision stating that everything is fine will, of course, compromise the change in these colonial ways. Decolonization is necessary if we ever want to do science ethically. "
Astronomer Nicholas Suntzeff, who heads the astronomy department of Texas A & M University, is sad about this decision. Hawaiian natives deserve more than that after all they went through, he said.
"It's something that will make them lose their culture, but that's another thing that happens when they're marginalized [the United States] and in the islands of Hawaii, "he told Earther. "It makes me sad to think about that."
Nevertheless, not all native Hawaiians hate the idea of this telescope on Mauna Kea. In fact, a The 2016 survey revealed that their support for TMT was split fairly evenly. And for the half who does not want the telescope, there may be some silver liners.
Proponents of the project, including the University of Hawaii and the California Institute of Technology, are planning cultural training for staff to alleviate some of their opponents' concerns. They will also have "monitors and cultural and archaeological experts" on site during construction, in case nothing is discovered. Scott Ishikawa, a spokesman for the TMT, has not been able to say whether these experts will come from the community or from elsewhere. The TMT will also contribute $ 1 million a year to the Hawaii Island New Knowledge Fund, which aims to attract more Island of Hawaii students to the STEM sector.
All this is a start, but it may not be enough to silence the protesters. The TMT team is aware of this and is counting on the state to allow workers to start construction safely, Ishikawa told Earther. The date of construction is still pending, as it relies on the TMT obtaining a conservation district use permit needed to build on the mountain.
"We promise that we will be good stewards of the mountain if we are allowed to settle there," Ishikawa said.
This "if" weighs heavy. Plan B consists of building the telescope in the Canary Islands. Opponents will not quit until Plan B becomes Plan A.
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