Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 12, 1 December 2021 — Maunakea: For the Record [ARTICLE]

Maunakea: For the Record

V HA'I MANA'O V ^ OPINION *

By 'Anakala Hinano Brumaghim For the record, in 1968, the University of Hawai'i received a general lease from Hawai'i Land Board to build a 0.9-meter telescope on Maunakea. Since 1969, six ever-larger telescopes have "found" their way to Maunakea; namely, UH's 2.2-me-ter telescope; NASA's 3.0-meter infrared telescope; the 3.6-meter telescope built jointly by Canada, France and Hawai'i; the 8.1-meter Gemini telescope; Japan's 8.3-me-ter Subaru telescope; and the W.W. Keek Observatory's twin lO-meter telescopes. To cover their "oversight" failure, the Hawai'i Land Board issued "after-the-fact permits." Maunakea is on "ceded lands" - land that was "illegally taken from the Hawaiian monarchy at the time of the overthrow and lands that are now being maintained under virtual moratorium until that elaim ean be addressed and resolved," wrote Jon M. Van Dyke in Who Owns the Crown Lands ofHawai'i ? That matter is still pending.

Finally, TMT and the state of Hawai'i both need to take heed that Maunakea is a "dormant" volcano. "Dormant" does not mean "extinct" and Madame Pele has her own timetable. Mount St. Helens (in the state of Washington) is also a "dormant" volcano. It erupted violently in 1980. Mount Fuji (in Japan) is a "dormant" volcano. It last erupted in 1707. Maunakea is a "dormant" volcano as well. It last erupted 3,500 years ago. No aila, be advised that if Madame Pele "burps" onee, all arguments are moot. ■ Wayne Hinano Brumaghim is a graduate ofKamehameha Schools, and the University ofMaine where he earned a BA in mathematics/ engineering. He served in the U.S. Air Force and lived on the continent until 1984 when he returned to O'ahu to carefor his mother. He retiredfrom the Sheraton Waikīkī in 2005 and returned to school at UH Mānoa, earning both BA and MA degrees in Hawaiian studies in his 6os. He resides in Papakōlea.