Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 2, 1 February 2004 — Mauna Kea: Our leaders must protect sacred "piko" [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mauna Kea: Our leaders must protect sacred "piko"

By Dickie Alihilani Nelson Editor's note: Hawai'i island resident Dickie Alihilani Nelson is a board officer of the Hawaiian Home Lands wait-list group Hui Kāko'o 'Āina Ho'opulapula and president of the nonprofit land-use planning group 'Ōiwi Lōkahi o ka Mokupuni o Keawe. The views expressed in this community discussion eolumn are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Hawaiian tradition tells us that Mauna Kea is the most sacred plaee in Hawai'i. On Mauna Kea, we find many ahu (shrines) sacred to Hawaiian deities. It is also the final resting plaee of the iwi, or bones, of our kūpuna, home of the wēkiu bug, a plaee where Hawaiian cultural practices are exercised, and now for the past 30 years or so, a plaee where scientists study the universe. In January, I had the opportunity to participate in five Environmental Impact Statement scoping meetings. These meetings were the result of NASA's commitment (made after the space agency was successfully sued by OHA) to eomplete an environmental impact statement prior to any construction of the agency's proposed outrigger telescopes. As an observer and testifier at the

meetings, it was clear that a dilemma continues to exist between two cultures, Hawaiian culture and the scientific culture. The message at the three meetings held on Hawai'i (Kona, Hilo and Kamuela) was very clear: testimony by the cultural advisory eouneil Kahu Kū Mauna, along with other cultural organizations, individual Native Hawaiians and non-Hawaiian supporters, overwhelmingly objected to NASA's desire to build additional telescopes. On O'ahu (meetings held at Mō'ili'ili and Wai'anae), there was, again, overwhelming support for the position held by our people who reside on Hawai'i. The meeting in Wai'anae, in particular, voiced very strong solidarity to stand together. Testimony offered by Native Hawaiians overwhelmingly expressed their cultural relationship with Mauna Kea, clearly informing NASA of the mountain's spiritual significance for our ancestors centuries ago and for the cultural practitioners of today. Environmentalists also shared their concerns, including laek of adequate protection for the wēkiu bug, whieh lives nowhere else on earth, and testimony that the State of Hawai'i has neglected to provide a process for preventing spills of toxic pollutants into the land during construction. Despite such testimony, one wonders just how mueh the EIS process will really protect Mauna

Kea from being further destroyed by irresponsible construction and unmonitored scicntific activities. This procedure is the only process that allows concerned citizens to address their concerns. However, as I see it, the EIS process is flawed. The Mauna Kea EIS scoping process is open to receive written testimony until Feb. 16. However, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) has already been given the green light by a contested-case hearing officer to allow NASA to submit a Conservation District Use Application to proceed with construction. What this means is that the Board of Land and Natural Resources ean issue a Conservation District Use Permit to NASA without the completion of the Environmental Impact Statement. In observing those who presented testimony and the laek of presence at these meetings by our loeal elected officials, who have the political influence to deny NASA any further construction, one must wonder how sincere Hawai'i's political leaders really are to the Hawaiian people. On one hand, they speak of embracing our culture, but their actions contradict what they say. Why have they not acted to prevent existing and future damage to Mauna Kea's environment and cultural sites? We are moving towards self-determination. Mauna Kea, in my view, ean be the piko of strength to pull everyone to the table to create an organic document that truly represents our diverse culture. But the existing political system denies our existence as the reason why Hawai'i is so special and attractive to the rest of the world. ■

^ Kūkākūkā