For activists who say they're protecting Mauna Kea, the long-running telescope fight encapsulates critical issues to Native Hawaiians.
Walter Ritte has been fighting for decades to protect Native Hawaiian rights, inspiring a new generation of activists trying to stop construction of a giant telescope they see as representative of a bigger struggle.
For Native Hawaiians, opposition to the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope isn't universal — some support the educational opportunities from the project and are facing backlash from those questioning their identity. "Uncle Walter can talk about not knowing the language and not knowing the history. But he knew how to stand up, and he knew how to fight," Kanuha said."Because of the things they did, the results were Hawaiian language programs. The results were revitalization of the culture and of understanding and of awakening."
Last year, the state Supreme Court upheld the construction permit, though protesters are still fighting in court and at the mountain.The swelling protest is a natural reaction to the pain Native Hawaiians have endured and the changes the islands have seen, said Glen Kila, program director of Marae Ha'a Koa, a Hawaiian cultural center.
From 18th century explorer James Cook's arrival in the islands, to laborers brought to plantations and today's tourism, the telescope is another example of outside interests overtaking Hawaiian culture, she said.
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