Reposting my letter to George Takei. You can personalize and send him your own thoughts, or feel free to copy and paste if you concur.....Please SHARE, and please ADD YOUR VOICE to protect Mauna Kea for future generations and the survival of traditional Hawaiian culture. #MaunaKeaIsSacred to George Takei! Aloha George Takei : I live on the lower slopes of Hawaiis Mauna Kea, as a guest of one of the most beautiful remaining indigenous cultures on the earth. The Hawaiian culture has barely survived a continuous onslaught of cultural appropriation since Western contact, such that many people in America today believe a hula girl is an accurate symbol of this deeply spiritual culture (its not--to traditional Hawaiians, its an offensive advertising icon). Much has been lost, and todays modern world presents an imperative to protect and perpetuate that which has survived. When Captain Cook arrived in these islands in 1778, the Hawaiians were ace navigators and astronomers. They lived within a cosmology that reflected a sophisticated understanding of life, parallel to modern scientific findings. They also held land and sea as deeply sacred, calling for protective stewardship in perpetuity. The most sacred of all their mountains is Mauna Kea, as you may know. Much of ancient Hawaiian knowledge of the stars and planets comes from systematic observation from the top of that mountain. Traditional Hawaiian astronomy continues to be practiced today, albeit in the presence of giant telescopes and infrastructure footprints. I am asking you to please withdraw your support for the Thirty Meter Telescope, a multinational project that will have a footprint the size of three football fields on top of Mauna Kea. Despite the expensive PR that claims cultural sensitivity, this project is a desecration of the spiritual foundation of the Hawaiian culture. I urge you to please listen to the traditional Hawaiian side of the argument against its moving forward. I would stand up for Fuji san if such a project were to threaten the traditionally sacred mountain of the people of Japan--as Im guessing you would also. This is not an argument against science. It is an argument for the right of native peoples everywhere to protect their sacred places from degradation, regardless of the possibly worthy benefit to others on the planet. Please, take a bit of time to review the whole story and arrive at your own conclusion. Even if you dont see fit to withdraw your support for the TMT, would you mind linking to other, local island perspectives here on your page? Mahalo nui loa for your thoughtful consideration. May Mauna Kea and all the indigenous sacred places of the world live long and prosper. Aloha, your fan and a friendly supporter of Hawaiian and other indigenous cultures blog.sfgate/hawaii/2013/12/13/taking-a-stand-for-mauna-kea-against-mammoth-new-observatory/ kahea.org/press-room/press-clips/intel-founder-land-board-asked-to-stop-new-mauna-kea-observatory kahea.org/issues/sacred-summits/sacred-summits-documents/fact-sheet-thirty-meter-telescope-tmt https://intercontinentalcry.org/indigenous-hawaiians-voice-opposition-telescope-23361/ https://youtube/watch?v=cUSVUQK9Bq4
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 22:27:36 +0000