I’m not an astronomer, nor do I work for an observatory but, by chance, I read the Maunakea Working Group draft report and was so dismayed by its unconstitutional tenets, I decided to respond.
While I deeply value the cultural heritage of Hawaiians who descend from long-ago Polynesian explorers, I also treasure the contributions of those who arrived here from Japan, China, Portugal, Africa, Mexico, the Americas and beyond. When you think about it, we are all immigrants here, and the result is an aromatic melting pot.
That’s why I was stunned that race and religion would be included in a state legislative working group’s recommendation that a proposed Maunakea Governing Entity be comprised predominately of Native Hawaiians.
Just how might potential members prove their “Native Hawaiian-ism?” Will the state conduct DNA tests and provide SafeDNA QR codes? How much Hawaiian blood is enough? After all, many who boast of Hawaiian heritage have mixed ancestry. Are Samoans considered Native Hawaiian? If not, Dwane Johnson, “The Rock,” is out of luck.
According to the 2020 Census, Asians comprise the largest racial group in our state, while whites are the second-largest group.
In Hawaii County, where the proposed Governing Entity would preside, whites make up 34% of the population, Asians 21.2% and Native Hawaiians 12.8%. If race should be the determining factor, then the Governing Entity should be 34% White, 21% Asian and 12% Native Hawaiian. But that thinking is as prejudicial as the MKWG proposal that the group be predominately Native Hawaiian. Instead, such an important governing body should be composed of the best and brightest candidates from Hawaii’s diverse populations.
Although the MKWG report provides an extensive view of one brand of indigenous religion, other Hawaiians may not share these views. Regardless, no one religion should prevail in government, nor be used as an excuse to destroy the state’s vigorous astronomy industry.
Maunakea is a magnificent resource that should be cared for by all, including those who construct gigantic telescopes near her summit. Like many, I urge the environmental protection of Maunakea, but I also urge our state and county authorities to prevent trashy shacks from being built on the treasured mountain’s flanks by protesters who claim that the Thirty Meter Telescope will do Maunakea harm.
Most puzzling is the report’s apparent disdain for Hawaii’s astronomical observatories. Without including any scientific or economic data about the impact of astronomy in Hawaii, the authors who dominated this draft with religious doctrine seem determined to remove all telescopes from Maunakea. Then what? Will only Native Hawaiians be allowed above certain elevations? Will other races be permitted on certain dates if they present SafeDNA QR codes?
Rather than have yesteryear thinking dominate a governing body, University of Hawaii should remain the ongoing overseer of Maunakea. UH’s astronomy programs are known worldwide, and the education and eye-opening discoveries of the magnificent instruments atop Maunakea have answered key questions about our universe.
Removing astronomy from Maunakea will have a devastating impact on the Big Island’s economy. These international observatories have poured billions of dollars into Hawaii ever since UH’s 2.2-meter telescope began operations in 1970 to help reinvigorate Hilo’s economy.
That forward thinking worked.
In a footnote, the MKWG said its report did not address the TMT. However, if a tunnel-visioned group is allowed to govern Maunakea, the next move will be to prevent TMT from being built.
The Hawaii Supreme Court affirmed in 2018 that the $1.43 billion project can be constructed, and most Hawaii citizens support the TMT, according to statewide polls. To keep America competitive in the field of astronomy, TMT must and will move forward.
We might disagree on the spiritual significance of Maunakea, but all humans are made of Carl Sagan’s “star stuff,” the same planets and stars that guided Polynesian explorers here. Yes, Native Hawaiians should be honored for their rich heritage, but no one religion or race should determine the fate of Hawaii’s mountains or our prestigious astronomical observatories.
Pat Dunlap Evans is a resident of Waikoloa.
