Mauna Kea Protectors Organize to Demand UC Divestment from the Thirty Meter Telescope

On Thursday, January 23, 2020, Kia’i, UC Students, and East Bay community members came together to participate in a demonstration, demanding that the University of California divest from the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project on Mauna Kea. Following on the heels of a five-month protest at the site location that brought construction to a halt, Mauna Kea Protectors, the UC Berkeley student group that organized the demonstration and press conference, hope to highlight “the destruction of Native Hawaiian Culture” inherent in the construction of the TMT. In a press release, they note that the University of California is currently in direct violation of several articles in the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. They also note that the TMT’s construction will disrupt the natural watershed that exists, causing “severe environmental degradation and a direct threat to Indigenous communities.” 

The demonstration was held during the UCSF-Mission Bay Board of Regents Meeting. A letter from the United Nations was delivered that is in support of the Kia’i and condemns the University of California for their involvement in the TMT project.

The TMT would be the most powerful telescope ever constructed, and is the product of a collaboration between several different institutions and countries. Besides the United States, partnerships have been established with Japan, China, India, and Canada, each country committing to some combination of financial and scientific assistance. Caltech and the University of California each committed $50 million to the project, along with $200 million from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Proponents of the project continue to support Mauna Kea as a site for the telescope because of its elevation and clear skies, which make it one of the best places on earth to observe space. 

On the other hand, some Hawaiians consider Mauna Kea to be the most sacred mountain of native Hawaiian religion and culture, and oppose it’s construction. The mountain is “a deeply sacred place that is revered in Hawaiian traditions," according to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. "It's regarded as a shrine for worship, as a home to the gods."  

Community members held a peaceful demonstration against the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope in front of the UCSF Mission Bay William J. Rutter Center. (Source: Sarah Bancroft)

Thirteen observatories already exist on the summit of Mauna Kea despite decades of disapproval from Native Hawaiians. In October of 2018, The Hawaiian Supreme Court affirmed a decision by the State Board of Land and Natural Resources to grant a revised building permit for the project, which included the removal of three existing telescopes and the confirmation that the TMT would be the last telescope to be built on the mountain. In June 2019, Hawaii Gov. David Ige and the Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory jointly announced that construction would begin the following week. This spurred the peaceful demonstrations that have thus far prevented construction. Mauna Kea Protectors draw direct connections between the University of California’s investment in the project and the arrest of peaceful indigenous elders during the on-site protests in July. 

In a statement, Dr. Kalamaoka'aina Niheu, Mauna Medic Healers Hui, reaffirms the determination of the Kia’i: "The Kia'i (Protectors) of Mauna Kea remain committed to continuing our presence for as long as necessary until we are assured that our sacred Mauna is safe from desecration. As the months go by, our resolve only strengthens. We can promise you, with the deepest Kapu Aloha, that TMT will never be built on Mauna a Wakea."