31 Arrested On Mauna Kea, Mauna Kea Hui Responds

121 thoughts on “31 Arrested On Mauna Kea, Mauna Kea Hui Responds”

1. The whole time she was arrested she kept saying, “these are our ceded lands. No they aren’t darling, they are every citizen’s lands. Your ethnicity does not make you in charge for all the citizens of this State! Every time you hear someone talk about “ceded lands” they want MONEY.

2. Check the history buddy, you get Amnesia.
   American Terrorism. SHAME YOUR PEOPLE

3. DiverDave, Ceded lands are a legal and moral reality. To claim those lands do not belong to the Hawaiian people is inaccurate & ignorant. Your opinion is useless when not based on history and fact.

4. There will never be peace here and thats the way the haoles like it.
   we not allowed to stand up for our rights but they allowed to stand up and takes us prisoner.
   keep it up and your generations will continues to suffer here…
   they already walk around these lands on egg shells, heads hanging down everytime you see hawaiian people, they scared, they know they country is wrong.
   UNITE WITH US
   CLEAN UP THESE LANDS
   and only then will you be a citizen here and be respected, till then this only makes things worse…

5. US Military supported the ILLEGAL overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai’i which makes all of Hawai’i Nei completely ceded lands. It is like Iran coming into America and taking away all the land. Then they rape all America’s natural resources for their own greed they take all your rights away and do what they want with the land. Is this how you see it happening DiverDave? You would be claiming what Kanaka Maoli have be fighting for that America belongs to all Americans. Yes DiverDave Hawai’i Nei rightfully belongs to the Kanaka Maoli except for the lands that our king gave to non Hawaiian’s. All other lands belong to Kanaka Maoli. The Mayor and Governor have bigger issues than the Mauna Kea protests they both just lost my vote for now and and arrest them after Kanaka Maoli regain Hawai’i Nei.

6. If you and a few of your friends rob a bank, but you only drove the getaway car you are as guilty as they are. Same thing Happened greedy business men with help from a US warship illegally overthrew a ruling Queen makes the US just as guilty as the business men. Give Hawai’i Nei Back to the Kanaka Maoli.

7. Dude take Hawaiian studies class and know your history. When Hawaii was taken we had a queen in rule ..a reigning monarchy and it was taken from her. She was imprisoned in the palace. If that was done to queen of England? Treason which means death. The military was ready to fire if the queen didn’t give up Hawaii.

8. So many like diver Dave do not know legality and the truth about an actual reigning monarch comparable to England. Look at the Hawaiian flag it’s influenced by the British. Look at the way they dressed….educated in England. Why? Because they shared a commonality called a monarchy… government ruled by kings and queens

9. So if a toddler, child, and teenager who understand what they are doing will you arrest them? US forces Hawaiians to fight against one another over land, resources, and respect but in the end we Hawaiians will always stead fast and make strong

10. It’s unfair to have an intellectual battle with an unarmed person (i.e. diverdave), but it’s the price we pay in order to be pono. Hawai’i is very different from the continental United States in so many ways including the way people refer to themselves in relation to their place of residence; Californians, Texans, New Yorkers, etc. Here in Hawai’i, just because you’re from here or reside here doesn’t make you Hawaiian (which is really a made up word that in reality holds no contextual meaning, but that’s a topic for another day). It doesn’t make you Kanaka Maoli. That is a title paid for dearly in blood.

11. So much emotion and concern all the sudden. Where were you people over the last 7 years? Why is it assumed that all Hawaiians oppose TMT? They don’t!

12. This is a telescope, we need it, for the better of humanity. Its sad to see people so selfish. They only see it as “Hawaiian”, which is the biggest problem with all of humanity. People only see the world as whites vs blacks, haole vs local, American vs middle east.
    NO.
    We are all humans, all on one planet and we need to learn to SHARE, and HELP, and show “aloha” to the world as a whole.
    This telescope is something that could help cure disease, explain our universe, and help with discoveries. SHAME on you for being so selfish that you cant share a small part of land to help the world. That is NOT the aloha you say you represent.

13. While I sympathize at what happened in the overthrow, this argument is pretty null and void. EVERY land in the entire world was taken over, by an overthrow, at least once, and sometimes hundreds of times. Every land was controlled by a foreign control at least once, and sometimes hundreds of times. You cant rewind time. If so, I think the original man was African, and we should give the whole world to him.

14. I would also like to say, that I see police brutality and violence all over the world. It was nice to see compassion by the police force in the actions they took. It made me respect the police here. I understand the ideal that those wanting to stop the telescope hold, I just do not think this is the right battle to fight. The telescope is something that helps all of humanity, to allow it would be to show aloha. Lets work on fighting issues that are negative for humanity, like the pesticides on GMOs and the political corruption in our country.

15. EVERY land in the entire world is a ceded land.

16. So someone said on here “not only here or there is Hawaiian land all of it is Hawaiian land and we are trying to protect it” ok I understand that, that is your right. now see here if you drive live in a house,apartment,condo if you eat or drink out of anything plastic or styrofoam then YOU ARE ALL HYPOCRITES because its a proven FACT that all of these HURT the environment. I say living in house,apartment or condo because someone hand to come in and clear the land for it. And how many of you DRIVE up there and take snow to bring back down “hurting the land”

17. Wow so much to say. History has been bad for most that are taken. Yes us haoles brought housing and yes we would have a hard time living without all the americanized stuff we all have. Helping and healing is what the world needs. The USA took Hawaii. That doesn’t mean we all are going to stand and watch as they turn us into LA or NY. I believe in perserving what is left of this culture and sharing it with my kids. All of it including the fact we wouldn’t be here if these things didn’t happen there for we MUST show our respect for all kanaka. I’m a haole who understands and will help in the fight for what is right!!! Is this not what freedom means?? Haole skin LOCAL heart forever!!!!

18. This argument is essentially a modified form of “everybody’s doing it.” If the Kanaka Maoli people continue to be pushed like this, be assured that we will collectively rise in defiance until our nation is restored or until the last of us is gone.

19. I find it interesting your cry of: “know your history.” As Oneself noted, “EVERY land in the entire world is a ceded land.” Central America had Incan, Mayan, and Aztec monarchs overthrown by Spanish monarchs. Europe was filled with overthrowing of monarchs by others. King Kalakaua and Queen Lili`uokalani trusted the US Government would eventually do the right thing, mistakenly. They did it to save the lives of most of the Hawaiian people, but their situation was not much different than most of the other examples, except they did not go into exile. Does that make the US actions correct? No. But, it’s not unusual.

20. Also, if anyone wants to claim the US never imprisoned other monarchs, I’d suggest they look at the treatment of Native American chiefs. Again, it doesn’t make it right, just not unusual.

21. Diver Dave is a know paid govt. shill. Pay no attention.

22. Correction, US Inc. (different from America) terrorism. Big difference. America, like Hawaii, is also illegally occupied. Look at how it happened:

    USAvsUS.info

23. What if they decide to build the telescope on your land and gave you $1/year? Would you show aloha?

24. A telescope that could cure disease??? and leap tall buildings with a single bound? Wow…Is the desecration of nature without the consent of its caretakers for the “better of humanity”? Spoken like a droid.

25. You are right. Not many sovereign countries left. Most are illegally occupied by US Inc. (not the same as America). Know your history.

26. The only way to fight this peacefully and win is in the courts.

    hawaiicommonlawgrandjury.com

27. You are another one that has little or possibly no understanding of basic sciences. Every technology we have, which include everything we’ve used to invent preventative medicines that cure disease, has been invented using information we have learned through studying our stars, and the basic principles that affect our dimensional world. It doesn’t get anymore hypocritical than fools who come on here to grumble, without science you wouldn’t even have the internet you grumble on.

28. There was like 50 people on the mountain protesting.
    You had 10X that amount in the local Walmart since it was EBT day.
    Good luck with that uprise you’re talking about.
    I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way, but its the hard truth you should realize. No one is giving up their iphone 6’s and free government money to help you fight off a telescope.

29. Really!? Garans ball-barans corporations who are ready to continue capitalizing on Hawai`i’s natural resources love that race division issue. We better start learning world history. I have great honor for many things of Hawaii but Kamehameha himself was a brutal man who overthrew and killed people for land (and other Ali`i before him did the same). Watch Howard Zinn on Youtube and know European history if you think Europeans are your enemy (we are learning from AP European History from Education Portal for homeschooling now). China, Middle East, Polynesia, all over the world there have been wars for land and natural resources. We have reached a tipping point around the world for stopping G.M.O.’s , protecting water and healthy soil, pollution issues et c. It has always been small groups of people (of every ethnicity) playing the masses (of every ethnicity) just like puppets. The way it is used in Hawai`i, you might as well say N**** as say Hao**. Let’s enter a new paradigm where Hawaiians are honored and respected for the knowledge they carry, for having lived with this land for so many generations. Where Hawaiians are helped so that they can own land and restore their foundation. Where all people living here are honored for our own cultural heritage and identity and what we have to offer for the good of all. We all have rich cultural heritages that will help guide us. There is so much good but we must start with total honor for all life. Sadly, I don’t think a lot of Hawaiians want to hear this. There is too much fear, too much unknowing, too much anger (still). We are all caught in the spider web of industry. It’s beyond sad that the crutch of racism in progressive action will harm our dearly beloved children. Sadly interesting from a observers perspective. Racism throughout the world and how it can be used by dictators: in India between Muslims and Hindi; in Europe between Nazi and Jewish/Catholic/Homosexual etc…. Did you know that the German people were in a terrible recession before Hitler? Germans were turning a blind eye in order to feed their children. The main problem is that corporations are running our governments and writing the laws (around the world!), and it’s only getting worse.

30. 7 years? how about over 120 years hawaiians oppose this. by the way america brain washed all the generations. check yo self before you wreck yo self boto in ya okole iz bad for your health.

31. without hawaiians aloha you haoles wouldn’t be alive here. check yo self b4 you wreck yo self dis boto in ya waha iz bad fo your health.

32. take your kala and shove it up yo kole

33. ekalamai true dat

34. RIGHT ON HAOLE THANKS EH

35. Hahahahahaha !!! Yea right ! You gonna kill the haoles with spears and fishing poles vs missiles and tanks ? hahahahhahhahaaa

36. Seriously, all that tough guy talk makes you look stupid chimpo. Keep the conversation intelligent or just don’t talk.

37. The fact that you make this statement tells me you don’t actually know what the term “ceded land” means in regards to Hawai`i.

38. But “Oneself” was incorrect when he made that statement. The term “ceded land” has very specific legal and political connotations in Hawai`i that most certainly do not apply to other places in the world. One could perhaps make an argument that every land has been conquered (even that one is tenuous), but the statement that all land is ceded land is decisively untrue.

39. You don’t know what the meaning of “show aloha” is. Please don’t bastardize native words and use them to chide native people. Also, the U.S.A. is not our country.

40. Your statement that all of modern science derives from star study is patently and provably false. Astronomy is probably the least impactful of the hard sciences, as government reductions of the NASA program would attest. Even if your statement were assumed true (which it isn’t), that doesn’t mean that the current endeavors of astronomy, this telescope included, will produce anything of practical worth to society.

    Don’t believe me? Go ahead and research it. The question of Astronomy’s relevance surfaces more often than any other question about scientific relevance.

    The reality is that astronomy is to be appreciated the same way that art or music or a great novel is to be appreciated, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, to uphold it at the expense of us Native Hawaiians who are largely powerless to protect our deeply-felt cultural and spiritual sites is exploitative, arrogant, and selfish.

41. Well that’s a bit offensive.

42. Could these be the same Hawaiians who voted 90+% in favor of statehood in 1959? Must have been some crazy-effective brainwashing. There is always a small minority of Hawaiians who get up in arms about telescopes on Maunakea. The concerns are very understandable, but they have already been addressed over the past 7 years of preparation and answered through the rigorous environment impact study. Astronomers revere the mountain too. How are telescopes, whose purpose is the acquisition of (rather profound) knowledge, desecrating the mountain, but the military base from which we drop munitions on the mountain slopes doesn’t? Or do the protestors ignore the latter because they have guns, whereas the astronomers don’t?

43. 1. There were 300 or so people up there today, and the numbers are growing. There are also larger protests of solidarity going on in different areas around the islands.

    2. How could you not mean it in a disrespectful way when you choose to bring up Walmart, EBT, iPhone6’s and welfare?

44. This comment section is a sad sad reflection on the level of racism and hatred that infects this land through a culture of blame…every haole is looked upon as if he overthrew the queen. Many here want a racially pure island and have no interest in sharing anything. True AlohA is the most valuable resource on this island and little of it gets shared with outsiders unless there’s a paycheck and a resort involved.

45. I’m all for respecting the land and it’s sacred areas and yes, it’s pretty shitty what happend with the overthrow but I didn’t do it and neither did you so stop feeling guilty for the sins of the past, it only perpetuates the situation when you can’t look past what can’t be undone…let’s a not kid ourselves, you’d be trending watering in the ocean with all the other white faces if the end goal of sovereignty was reached.

46. Just because I’m not on the mauna fighting a telescope doesn’t mean I don’t respect this land or its people and I would never carry the guilt for sins of the past that I nor my family had anything to do with. I have not meet one of my native neighbors who opposes this project or shares this “Haole go home” attitude being displayed on the mauna.

47. Shut up, we don’t want your stupid haole money, we want our aina and the aloha that the land has and if you can’t respect that then go study history class against. If you can’t say it straight to our faces then shut up or be shut up

48. Shut up, bet if you faced one of our Hawaiian warriors you would be dead already, you think you can talk to us like that, I bet you don’t even know what us Hawaiians have been through, you haoles just watch, we will rise again and rightfully claim our land, we will defeat your guns and tanks, bring em on. We ain’t scared of you, we’ve neverbeen scared of you

49. Does the University of Hawaii own the new Telescope?….Is it building it?…

50. mai hana kuli, kanaka. we are, and always will be, a proud being. we will always act honorably in all worlds, in all expressions; even with those sent here to disrupt the mana, the pono, by entering through the heart. there are two sides to everything, do not follow them into the shadow where the e’epa live, breathe and win. stick to the light where we live and breathe and find our strength. my love to you and your ohana.

51. I am assuming that that includes you? As far as this conversation went, Mr. Stoleson’s rebuttals on your key points in favor of TMT were right on the mark. I was also impressed with the amount of intellectual patience he displayed while conversing with a corporate government bot, or shill. Mahalo to you, oneself, for giving Mr. Stoleson that opportunity.

52. Look, we are not talking about pesticides on GMOs, we are talking about the stupid telescope being built on Maunakea, so tell me, are you Hawaiian because sure sounds like you aren’t, if your saying all this stuff and your not Hawaiian, then you going have problems

53. That’s not true get your facts straight, we try to share our aloha around the world, but what you don’t see is that people don’t want our aloha and are ignoring how special it is for us to be sharing a our aloha with them. It doesn’t involve a paycheck it doesn’t even involve money, we don’t share our aloha now because when we share it, they take it for granted and use it for evil, we don’t share it because we want to keep Aloha Pure

54. Check your sources, Mister!!! 90% Hawaiians did NOT vote in favor of statehood… 90% US Illegal Occupying Military and Illegal Civilian Business population voted for ILLEGAL US STATEHOOD… The Hawaiian Kingdom has been confirmed a Neutral Nation State SINCE the 1840s by the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague in The Netherlands and flies our Hawaiian Kingdom Flag beside the flag of Great Britain… Check your FACTS!!!

55. Rather than create more problems, why not consider other options as viable solutions? Let’s discuss this proverbial telescope: it would become the 13th telescope constructed on Mauna aWakea in order to find the answers that the other 12 aren’t able to do; this would make them obsolete. Why not build TMT upon one of those sites so as to keep the impact minimal while still providing for this undefined need of humanity that apparently only TMT’s telescope is capable of doing? Perhaps by swapping out the composite mirror and other optics, mounts, mechanical constructions, etc., this could also become a cost effective project for the countries involved, thus finally ending the Era of Planned Obsolescence in general science. Keep in mind that there is a similar project that received the green light Wednesday 4/1/2015. The European Extremely Large Telescope in the Atacama Desert, Chile was approved Dec. 4th of last year, and when completed in 2024 (same projected completion for TMT), the $1.3 billion dollar project (that will feature a 128-foot wide composite mirror) will be the world’s largest telescope. It befuddles me why these brilliant astronomers haven’t considered these other options, which would include that of sharing in the knowledge.

    I’m afraid that the ideologies of Aloha, Helping, & Sharing seem to be as isolated as we are.

56. Being blessed as an indigenous people, we were entrusted with the knowledge of which modern science is only beginning to scrape the surface of. Our applications based on the knowledge of the stars were in use ages before Contact (pre-contact) with the western world. Hokulea & The Polynesian Voyaging Society is a very small piece of the spectrum of that knowledge. Mr. Thompson, bless his heart, is a wonderful human being and an excellent kumu. In the field of medicine, our Na Kahuna spent no less than 20 years to learn the foundations of all disciplines before spending the rest of their lives in Applied Science for their chosen fields. La’u Lapa’au ‘s comeback is slow due to the destruction of many indigenous, and endemic, vegetation of medicinal properties. Much of our knowledge can be found in our mo’olelo, including that of The Kumulipo. In order to understand, not necessarily read, you must be able to think the language… and not just speak it. It is so important to know your Mo’o ku auhau. Mahalo for letting me share my mana’o.

57. Being blessed as an indigenous people, we were entrusted with the knowledge of which modern science is only beginning to scrape the surface of. Our applications based on the knowledge of the stars were in use ages before Contact (pre-contact) with the western world. Hokulea & The Polynesian Voyaging Society is a very small piece of the spectrum of that knowledge. Mr. Thompson, bless his heart, is a wonderful human being and an excellent kumu. In the field of medicine, our Na Kahuna spent no less than 20 years to learn the foundations of all disciplines before spending the rest of their lives in Applied Science for their chosen fields. La’au Lapa’au ‘s comeback is slow due to the destruction of many indigenous, and endemic, vegetation of medicinal properties.

    All of this being done during pre-contact, The population we have in modern times was exactly the same as it was then, and yet we were able to sustain the same population without modern technology. We were able to provide a healthy, happy, and balanced way of life while caring and developing, not destroying, Tutu Haumea (Mother Earth). Mutually, cohesively, coexisting and connecting…without the Telescope. If given a choice between all of that and the kawila lolo? What would you choose?

    Much of our knowledge can be found in our mo’olelo, including that of The Kumulipo. In order to understand, not necessarily read, you must be able to think the language… and not just speak it. It is so important to know your Mo’o ku auhau.

    Mahalo for letting me share my mana’o.

58. ya small kine no brains dis guy. they manipulated the voting check the history dummy

59. PUT DAT IN HAOLE IN HIS PLACE! IF YOU NOT GOIN STAND WITH HAWAIIANS, KEEP YOUR MOUTH CLOSED AND YA HEAD DOWN. JUST LIKE U DO IN PUBLIC.

60. IF YOU NOT HAWAIIAN WHY U LIVE HERE ILEGALLY

61. Facts are such stubborn things. Yes, you’re right: 90% of voters in Hawaii who participated in the referendum marking “yes” or “no” did not vote “yes”. 94% did: those who voted their opinion did so overwhelmingly in favor of statehood. It was not just the “illegal occupying military and civilian business population” (aka mainlanders who had become Hawaiian residents) who voted for statehood, it was native hawaiians. It was true in high turnout areas (e.g. Maui-Precinct 7 where 92% participation; only 19% white) and lower turnout ones. In Hawaii, the opposition was driven in large part by anti-Japanese racebaiters. On the mainland, anti-statehood efforts were driven by southern Democrats.

62. The sins of the past have not stayed in the past – their reverberations are felt daily. Supporting us does not have to equate with feeling guilty. Perhaps he just feels the responsibility – the kuleana – that these islands instill so often in those who come and make them home. Hawai’i was a multi-ethnic nation before and it would be again were it to return to nationhood. No need to engender resentment or fear based on skin tone. It’s the heart that matters, and that has always been the case.

63. I’m sorry, but your figures are terribly misleading. Only about 30% of Hawai`i’s total population voted in statehood. Of those who did vote, most were recent arrivals or american military personnel and their families. The great majority of Hawaiians and local peoples did not participate in the vote, for reasons ranging from ennui and disillusionment to a refusal to acknowledge or identify with U.S.A. politics.

    As far as concerns being “addressed”, they were addressed by people and organizations on both sides who wanted to see the telescope built. It is being built on ceded lands, which by law are held in trust for the Native Hawaiian people and have specific obligations to them as such. It is still involved in court deliberations, and the matter of the land lease also remains unsettled.

    This is more than just about the mountain – it’s also about a long-running pattern of large organizations continuing to trample over what Hawaiians hold dear and are powerless to defend.

    And yes, of course we actively oppose the Pohakuloa base. And Makua valley military drills. And the pollution of Pearl Harbor. And the excess river diversions. And the overuse of pesticides. And all the issues that further damage the fragile ecosystems of our home. You just haven’t been paying attention.

64. actually, checking the historical record is exactly what I did. So your concerns, while understandable, were already addressed. Sort of like how the very understandable and important concerns about the environmental impact the TMT may have were already addressed in the most recent EIS. The sad thing is that native Hawaiian activists and the astronomers should be natural allies: both revere Maunakea, even if it is for different reasons.

65. “Only about 30% of Hawai`i’s total population voted in statehood. Of
    those who did vote, most were recent arrivals or american military
    personnel and their families.”

    Um, no. First, only a fraction of the total population was eligible to vote in the first place. Seventeen year olds can’t vote. Of these, the demographics still did not favor mainlanders at all. The statement that “most were recent arrivals or american military personnel and their families” is simply false. There is no evidence at all that native Hawaiians as a group voted against statehood

    The TMT is being built within the Astronomy Precinct on the Mauna Kea Science Reserve, a region *legally* established in 1968 and designated as available for telescope construction. In fact, the site is not the best on the summit for astronomy but was chosen with cultural sensitivities in mind.

    I’m glad that others actively oppose Pohakuloa base. But go try to block the base entrance as well and see what happens.

66. Although oneself and diverdave are e’epa (and probably one and the same shill), I would still like to thank you for an invigorating conversation. It’s such a pleasure to hear our indigenous people, especially when their hearts, minds, and spirits are pa’a. Mahalo for never stooping to the Tomfoolery that goes on when parents go out and leave their children home alone with the kawila lolo as a babysitter. Much love to you.

67. Thank you for raising these very important issues, and actually the astronomy community has considered them. Here are some replies. The TMT site was a compromise between scientific capability and cultural sensitivity. One example consideration: view obstruction — Yes, some of the sites of existing telescopes (e.g. CFHT, I think) offer better seeing than the TMT site. But then the protestors concerns about TMT being rather obtrusive would have some validity. Instead, the TMT will be this ~185ft tall structure … that almost no one on the island will see because it sits ~700 ft below the summit, having a 14% viewing plane (compared to, say, ~35+% for Gemini).

    Additionally, apparently unbeknownst to many protestors, there *are* plans to decommission some of the older telescopes. CSO is going to be the first to go (in ~3 years). Either JCMT or SMA are probably going to go in the following decade. It is unclear what unique thing the other 2–4m class telescopes will do 20 years from now. As for the E-ELT, yes it will be very impressive like the TMT. But as I explained in another submitted thread (which I was prevented from posting: biased much, KITV?), the two facilities each have their own strengths/weaknesses, slightly different science focuses, different personnel, etc. … and E-ELT is probably going to be a harder telescope to build.

    If your main concern is that there are “too many telescopes” on Maunakea, then your cause is best served not by trying in vain to stop the TMT but making sure UH delivers on its promise to decommission the soon-obsolete telescopes in a timely manner and return the land to its original state as much as is possible. That is certainly something that much of the astronomical community could get behind as well.

68. Your “facts” are still faulty… Following the US illegal overthrow of our Monarch (not our Neutral Nation State of Hawaiian Kingdom) the population of Hawaiian subjects (of blood, of birth and of naturalization) numbered approximately 40,000. The US illegally occupied and populated our Kingdom with their military, its dependents, and any US business that would buy into and develop land which had been illegally made available; most of which has NO CLEAR TITLE to this very day. By the time the US illegal occupiers, both military and civilian, decided to force an illegal US statehood vote, the US illegal occupying population was more than 5 times that of the Hawaiian population. Yes, many of those US illegal occupiers had been born on our land, but only those of us descendent from Hawaiian Kingdom subjects are of Hawaiian nationality… all the others are illegally occupying our Kingdom… To believe that someone born here to non-Hawaiian heritage is arrogant… Just like believing that you have a right to further destroy land in my Kingdom for your little star gazing excercise is worth the harm to our ecosystems and contamination of our water system. The Hawaiians can still manage land and water systems, and circumnavigate our planet’s oceans without the harm caused by your stargazers, without hazardous waste, and without bulldozing anyone’s home or temple. Should you doubt that the Neutral Nation State of the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist, illegally occupied by your United States military and greedy business, kindly note that the Hawaiian Kingdom Hae(flag) flies beside the flag of Great Britain at the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague in The Netherlands. The US state of Hawaii is a US business designed to continue to cover up the 100+ year US Illegal Occupation and Rape of my homeland.

69. I respect your passion for Hawaii and yes the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy was messy and questionable at best. But really it’s hard to get through a sentence of what you wrote without finding something factually incorrect/misleading. The native Hawaiian population in proportional terms had been declining since *well before* the overthrow of the monarchy in large part due to the kingdom’s importation of agricultural labor from East Asia. It is hard to think of them as “illegally occupying” Hawaii since they were brought here in the first place and allowed to vote. By 1900, only 5% of Hawaii was caucasian, 1/4 was native, and half were asian. At the time of the 1959 referendum, caucasians still comprised only 1/4 of the population, and as I said before the vote in favor of statehood was supported by majority of all demographics. As has been painstakingly presented before, the TMT construction plans carefully consider environmental impact (including being a zero-waste discharge facility) and it (nor the other telescopes) pose any danger to the Maunakea aquifer and drinking water on the big island. As for the last point, after the Admission Act the UN removed Hawaii from the list of Non-Self Governing Territories. In contrast, the Permanent Court of Arbitration does not confer any official legal standing recognized by the UN.

    Yes, there are legitimate concerns someone might have about the TMT, and I can certainly see, from the perspective of the protestors, how it is just the latest example of imperialism and subjugation of the native population. But this narrative is just not true. Period. Full stop. While the TMT has gone to great lengths to be environmentally responsible and culturally sensitive, it’s unfortunate that they have done such a terrible job at messaging.

70. On the topic of STATEHOOD:

    “December 22, 1945- Interior Secretary Harold Ickes endorses Hawai‘i Statehood as the official position of the Department of the Interior.

    December 14, 1946- Hawai‘i is placed on the United Nations list of “Non-self-Governing Territories” under article 73 of the UN charter which promotes decolonization. This creates an unexpected impediment to statehood.”

    If referrals were to be made to the supposed plebiscite (or referendum), then there was none. It was illegal for they did not meet the criteria to be a plebiscite according to the United Nations (in regards to decolonization); the choices were between the lesser of two evils in the absence of a positive option. Sovereignty was not an option. And we did not relinquish our rights to Sovereignty in exchange for continued colonization and occupation by the U.S. missionary-businessmen, via a Bayonet Constitution, who’s financial interests were vested in sugar.

    “January 17, 1946- On the last day of the Larcade hearings, territorial senator Alice Kamokila Campbell, daughter of wealthy sugar planter James Campbell and a descendant of Hawaiian royalty, voices her opinion against statehood: “I do not feel…we should forfeit the traditional rights and privileges of the natives of our islands for a mere thimble full of votes in Congress, that we, the lovers of Hawai‘i from long association with it should sacrifice our birthright for the greed of alien desires to remain on our shores, that we should satisfy the thirst for power and control of some inflated industrialists and politicians who hide under the guise of friends of Hawai‘i, yet still keeping an eagle eye on the financial and political pressure button of subjugation over the people in general of these islands.” Her voice was one of the few dissident ones, as the Larcade committee’s general sentiment was in full support of Hawaiian Statehood. Still, consideration was deferred until the next legislative session.”

    Although initial attempts for statehood had failed, what was left of the voice of the people were not being heard (our population had declined by over 770,000 within a matter of 141 years since contact). In May of 1949, a desperate attempt was made to expedite statehood. The Territorial Legislature (comprised of U.S. businessmen) approves the convening of a Constitutional Convention to frame a state constitution as other territories that became states had done successfully in the past. It is hoped that the creation of a constitution will demonstrate Hawai‘i’s preparedness for democracy.

    By the time the vote is railroaded into motion, the damage was done. The voices were not heard. The concerns were addressed with excessive show of force supported by the U.S. Military. I have a beautiful picture of the signing of the petition for statehood that consisted of printing press paper set upon tables that ran almost the full length of Bishop Street in downtown Honolulu. All were encouraged to sign, even the visitors who arrived whether by Matson’s Luxury Liners or military transports. A 1959 census shows that 17% of the voters were Hawaiians; that would be 17% of less than 22,000 people. That would be at the very most 3, 740 of the 120,000 signatures contained on a 250-lb petition. I’ve always believed that no one has built a fence high enough that we can’t jump, but an 18% increase overnight in our population is an unreasonable goal to set. Perhaps that’s where the rest of the 90+% disappeared. Imagine 16,060 highly motivated Hawaiians looking for a way to spread the Aloha. ‘Auwe!

    All of that said and done, it still doesn’t seem like this is the answer; it doesn’t seem like we are looking in the right place.

    I truly believe that the CORE of this topic is not Statehood; that would be more like the mantle. We must dig deeper…and hopefully we won’t have to dig 700 feet to get to it.

    On the topic of ANNEXATION:

    In 1897, “the United States, founded upon the belief that a just government can exist only by the consent of the governed, is … preparing to take a nation’s life with all the complacent assurance of an old time stage villain,” reported Miriam Michelson in a piece published in the San Francisco Call on Sept. 30 that year. “For Hawai‘i has not asked for annexation. There are 100,000 people on the islands. Of these not 3 percent have declared for annexation. To the natives the loss of nationality is hateful, aberrant.”

    “Later in her article, Michelson writes, “At Honolulu, I had asked a prominent white man to give me some idea of the native Hawaiian’s character. ‘They won’t resent anything,’ he said, contemptuously. ‘They haven’t a grain of ambition. … They care for nothing except extremely simple and easy living. They have no perseverance, they have no backbone. They’re unfit.’””

    I see some things never change, but at least they were disambiguous in stereotyping the people of Hawai’i. They were authentic. Then again, some things do change. Bless our Na Kupuna, Na Keiki, ame Na Mo’opuna for their perseverance and backbone. Again.

    Now, let’s take a look at the Kū‘ē Petitions:

    “After spending a century tucked away in an archive, the Kū‘ē Petitions were located. Bearing witness to the tremendous effort Hawaiians made to avoid annexation by the United States, the documents are proving increasingly important.”

    In 1996, graduate student Noenoe Silva was about a year into her dissertation work when she saw a small picture of a page of the Kū‘ē Petitions in a booklet, a guide to an exhibit that had been held in the small gallery space at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. On a visit there, she went specifically to find this petition, but says, “I didn’t know how big it was or how important it was.”

    The documents Silva tracked down that day are printed in Hawaiian and English and titled, “Palapala Hoopii Kue Hoohui Aina,” or “Petition Protesting Annexation.” They’re 556 pages of signatures gathered in the fall of 1897, and presented to the U.S. Congress as proof that an overwhelming majority of Hawai‘i’s citizenry, both Native Hawaiian and non, were opposed to annexation to the U.S.

    They reflect the work of three organizations, the Hui Aloha ‘Āina (divided into two groups, one for men and one for women) and the Hui Kālai‘āina. Fanning out in a massive petition drive in support of Queen Lili‘uokalani, the Hui Aloha ‘Āina gathered more than 21,269 signatures, and the Hui Kālai‘āina got 17,000 signatures, totaling around 38,000 names.

    According to Silva’s book, Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism, “Even if some people signed both petitions, the total number is impressive given that the population of Kanaka Maoli and mixed-blood persons reported by the Hawaiian Commission census for that year was 39,000.”

    Now a Ph.D. and professor in the Political Science Department of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Silva says the petitions were for Hawaiians “a way to try to be heard by Americans. The American press was receiving regular, very racist and disparaging dispatches from Honolulu … about who was in favor of annexation. Really lying, pretending there wasn’t any resistance.” Silva also connected with her own family history, as she found the name of her great-great-great-grandmother among the signers of the petition.

    “The information was always there and no one was looking,” says Lynette Cruz, an assistant professor of anthropology at Hawai‘i Pacific University and president of the Ka Lei Maile Ali‘i Hawaiian Civic Club. “Noenoe was paying attention. The results have been information and a profound connection. We had been indoctrinated with someone else’s history, until these came along. These names belong to us; they are not foreign.”

    This petition was signed a few months after our Queen Lili’uokalani’s Official Protest to the Treaty of Annexation presented in Washington D.C. June 17, 1897.

    Our Queen states that, “…do hereby protest against the ratification of a certain treaty, which, so I am informed, has been signed at Washington by Messrs. Hatch, Thurston, and Kinney, purporting to cede those Islands to the territory and dominion of the United States. I declare such a treaty to be an act of wrong toward the native and part-native people of Hawaii, an invasion of the rights of the ruling chiefs, in violation of international rights both toward my people and toward friendly nations with whom they have made treaties, the perpetuation of the fraud whereby the constitutional government was overthrown, and, finally, an act of gross injustice to me.”

    “Because the official protests made by me on the seventeenth day of January, 1893, to the so-called Provisional Government was signed by me, and received by said government with the assurance that the case was referred to the United States of America for arbitration.”

    “Because that protest and my communications to the United States Government immediately thereafter expressly declare that I yielded my authority to the forces of the United States in order to avoid bloodshed, and because I recognized the futility of a conflict with so formidable a power.”

    “Because the President of the United States, the Secretary of State, and an envoy commissioned by them reported in official documents that my government was unlawfully coerced by the forces, diplomatic and naval, of the United States; that I was at the date of their investigations the constitutional ruler of my people.”

    “Because neither the above-named commission nor the government which sends it has ever received any such authority from the registered voters of Hawaii, but derives its assumed powers from the so-called committee of public safety, organized on or about the seventeenth day of January, 1893, said committee being composed largely of persons claiming American citizenship, and not one single Hawaiian was a member thereof, or in any way participated in the demonstration leading to its existence.”
    ———————————————————————————–
    Phew! This isn’t the Full Monty..there’s more, but I think this will do just fine. Quite a few key points were made.

    “Could these be the same Hawaiians who voted 90+% in favor of statehood in 1959?” It’s obvious that the answer is no. Not only did they oppose it, but they were not even qualified to vote for Annexation because of the criteria that all voters must be landowners.

    “There is always a small minority of Hawaiians who get up in arms about telescopes on Maunakea.” First of all, Hawaiians are a minority…or better yet, an endangered species. Our decline in numbers were due to foreign disease. “By 1919, the Native Hawaiian population had declined from an estimated 1,000,000 in 1778 to an alarming 22,600, and in recognition of this severe decline, Congress enacted the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108), which designated approximately 200,000 acres of ceded public lands for homesteading by Native Hawaiians.” But did we truly survive?

    “In 1896 education through the Hawaiian language in both public and private schools was outlawed on the model of U.S. policy towards the use of American Indian languages in education. Teachers are told that speaking Hawaiian with children will result in termination of employment. Children are harshly punished for speaking Hawaiian in school. By 1984 the community of fluent speakers had dwindled to a few elders and a tiny geographically isolated population on the island of Ni‘ihau. Hawaiian language speaking children under the age of 18 numbered less than fifty.”

    If you want to kill an entire people, you don’t need guns, all you need to do is erase their memory of who they really are. Without a language, one has no identity. At this point,”..a small minority of Hawaiians” begins to sound redundant. WE ARE THE BORG, RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.

    God, I love that show.

    “The concerns are very understandable, but they have been addressed over the past 7 years of preparation and answered through the rigorous environment impact study.” Would you possibly have a copy of the EIS, even though the cultural concerns have not been addressed; for if they had been, there wouldn’t be a mountain of constant sorrow where “there is always a small minority of Hawaiians who get up in arms about telescopes on” Mauna aWakea.

    “How are the telescopes, whose purpose is the acquisition of (rather profound) knowledge, desecrating the mountain..” Perhaps the bigger question should be: “Haven’t you done enough?” Science has already ruptured our Mauna’s hyman 12 times, and now the plans are to make an even bigger and deeper wound? How can that be viewed as reverence when it appears to be anything but? Domination through manipulation. Speaking of which….

    Our people are NOT okay with the military presence in Hawai’i. Period.

    “Or do the protesters ignore the latter because they have guns, whereas the astronomers don’t?” I would like to answer that, but I know my place. I will defer to our Queen’s wisdom instead…

    “Because that protest and my communications to the United States Government immediately thereafter expressly declare that I yielded my authority to the forces of the United States in order to avoid bloodshed, and because I recognized the futility of a conflict with so formidable a power.”

    I guess she was thinking the same thing we were: This is not the time. Do not fight. We knew that if we fought and died that day, there would be no one left to carry on the good fight. We had to wait until our numbers were back up. As the world watches and our numbers increase, that time may be at hand.

    In order to use the voting for Statehood as an honest means to express our people’s approval, one would first have to prove that it was a legal process. It was not. It did not meet the criteria for Hawai’i would first have to legally be a Territory.

    In order to be a Territory, one would have had to have proved that our Annexation was a legal process. It was not.

    Last, but not least…

    “How are telescopes, whose purpose is the acquisition of (rather profound) knowledge, desecrating the mountain…” I know we mentioned this earlier, but it’s worth mentioning again.

    Being blessed as an indigenous people, we were entrusted with the knowledge of which modern science is only beginning to scrape the surface of. Our applications based on the knowledge of the stars were in use ages before Contact (pre-contact) with the western world. Hokulea & The Polynesian Voyaging Society is a very small piece of the spectrum of that knowledge. Mr. Thompson, bless his heart, is a wonderful human being and an excellent kumu. In the field of medicine, our Na Kahuna spent no less than 20 years to learn the foundations of all disciplines before spending the rest of their lives in Applied Science for their chosen fields. La’au Lapa’au ‘s comeback is slow due to the destruction of many indigenous, and endemic, vegetation of medicinal properties. All sacrificed with Aloha in order to share what little land we have (Hawaii ranked 43 in size in comparison to the others), all in the name of Progress..all in the name of Modern Science.

    All of this being done during pre-contact, The population we have in modern times was exactly the same as it was then, and yet we were able to sustain the same population without modern technology. We were able to provide a healthy, happy, literate and balanced way of life while caring and developing, not destroying, Tutu Haumea (Mother Earth) or each other. Interacting and coexisting cohesively, in harmony with all…without the Telescope. If given a choice between the promise for all of that and the possibility of eventually making it happen, which would you choose?

71. As a full-blooded Native Hawaiian who has been fully employed since the age of 18 (I am 51 now), I have proudly fought beside my people for civil rights (both in and out of uniform). I have been blessed so as to never have been on welfare. I have used spears, fishing poles and missiles. I missed the bus to the tank bank, but that matters not. This is and never was about cultural tolerance or the lack of. This is about surviving for the next 2 – 7 generations. This is about natural resources and the contamination of now endangered aquifers. Water is Life. This is about not being given our day in court, due process…ever. Since the days of Antiquity, it has been this way. This is about corporate government looking for one of the most sought after commodities known as Helium; so rare that some countries are seriously considering going to the moon in order to drill for it. This is about facing ridicule, defamation of character, a lack of understanding (if not compassion) while enduring a constant barrage of visible and excessive use of unethical force aimed at burning out a people who are tired of accepting only crumbs from a loaf of bread that their people once took care of. This is about humiliation and the stripping of human rights, and not just the right to decide your own destiny and way of life. This is about 120 years of oppression, either passive aggressive or excessive. It’s about the need to respect a proud culture who still has much to teach the next generation; how to maintain a self-sustaining community without having to destroy that which cares for us. It’s about finding other viable options for solutions; for if we are not part of the solution then we are part of the problem. Mahalo for letting me share my mana’o.

72. This is getting a bit off-topic from the original story although is an interesting discussion. The text you copied and pasted from was certainly informative (and I’ve seen it before many times) even though it’s from a website with anti-statehood propagandist tendencies (ironically named “statehood Hawaii”: i can haz the google, too) and as a consequence leaves out important information.

    First, the movement towards statehood was not, as implied, a unilaterally supported US takeover scheme nor merely a reaction to a UN threat to declare Hawaii a NsGT. Statehood was debated and the opposition to it often wasn’t very high-minded. There were numerous attempts at paving the way for Hawaiian statehood in the early 19th century from mainland lawmakers and from Hawaii, including from Prince Kuhio (despite being connected to the ousted monarchy and thus naturally supportive of sovereignty), all of which were stopped in their tracks/died in committee, largely due to racism from southern white Democrats and (later) suspicion of Japanese residents of Hawaii (again, racism). Congressional hearings in 1937 favored a plebiscite, which was carried out in 1940 (see below): these efforts predated anything to do with the UN. Post-World War II, the path to statehood cannot be characterized as exploitive mainlanders unilaterally and desperately arm-twisting their way into putting statehood to a vote. Again, much of the opposition came from southern white Democrats and new opposition came from paranoid anti-Communists who somehow believed there was a red menace in the islands.

    Second, it is simply false that actions taken prior to the 1959 vote poisoned the well so much that all native Hawaiians stayed home and obscured prior heavy local opposition. The Hawaii State constitution in 1952 was approved 75%/25%. Even prior to that, support for statehood was clear. The 1940 plebiscite vote (25% white/mainland-origin: roughly same as 1959) passed a “yes” for statehood by just over a 2 to 1 margin. The claim that property rights were a requirement for the 1940 vote (let alone the 1959 vote) is odd, since the Organic Act (1900) specifically abolished the old Kingdom/Republic requirement of property. The push to statehood was stopped only due to Pearl Harbor. The anti-statehood activist referred to (Alice Campbell) is hardly a saint, opposing statehood in large part due to her anti-japanese paranoia (even questioning the sacrifice of brave Japanese-American soldiers). Compared to previous votes, the 1959 turnout was rather high. “No” carried just a few (one?) precincts, “yes” was overwhelming even in precincts overwhelmingly dominated by native Hawaiians, and again the Caucasian population was too small to sway the outcome.

    So “yes”. These could be the same Hawaiians who voted 90+% in favor of statehood in 1959. And “yes” there will always be some people (native Hawaiians, other residents) who will oppose telescope construction. And yes, I do have (and have read) the Environmental Impact Study, including the formal findings, responses by outside interests (e.g. the Sierra Club; other environmental groups; US govt agencies; private citizens) and response to those responses by the TMT describing how they address concerns. I have also read the new Master Sublease document made public in January of this year that details the long-term plans for telescope support on Maunakea. As for exploring the universe, no we have not done enough. The TMT will be groundbreaking in this sense. I would challenge you to read these as well.

    I understand and respect how native Hawaiians revere Maunakea as sacred even if the religious and cultural traditions are not my own. It is a beautiful thing and something that should be celebrated, never denigrated. “The authors wish to recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that the summit of Mauna Kea has always had within the indigenous Hawaiian community. We are most fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct observations from this mountain.” We put that in our papers and we meant it. However, if you cannot understand that we also revere the mountain, it is you who are being narrow minded, not me.

73. Maybe they should build a Walmart on the site of Gesthemene or tear down the Wailing Wall and put in an airstrip. Or level Mecca and build another Disney theme park. Betcha the people who protested something like that wouldn’t see a second of jail time.

74. I don’t worship a mountain. We live and we die and all of this nonesense will fade into the dust. What a waste of time

75. I’m just going to say this for those who think this telescope is necessary. If your not from Hawaii than put that thing in your area. If your living in Hawaii than put it in your yard. How would you feel about that. Don’t agree to put something somewhere that does not belong to you. We fight for what we believe in..that mountaim provides a lot for everyone there if anything were to go wrong theres no way of repairing that mountain. Malama ‘ia Hawaii, take care of hawaii and it will take care of you.. Respect who we are and how we were brought up. You don’t understand that you shouldn’t have a say in this situation.

    Soja has a good album out “amid the noise and haste” tearing it down is a good song.. soon enough if the world keeps going in the direction it’s going we’ll all have little to nothing of something or too much of something we don’t need which will overflow us til it’s the end.

    Aloha a hui hou!

76. Aloha kakou ame hana hou,

    Mahalo for taking the time to research, absorb and share your ‘ike and mana’o in your response to my previous post beneath this one. I’m sure our efforts will be both enlightening and empowering for all involved in this journey that we share.

    In regards to this thread being a bit off topic, it is debatable… “pela paha, ‘a’ole paha” for it shares a common need with the Mauna aWakea topic, as well as that which is still being propagated. It disheartens me when we use words meant for beauty and creation to instead describe ugliness and destruction. But that seems to be the modern way; taking things out of context for individual or even secular purposes. It is yet another thing that sets Indigenous People apart from the rest of the world. Even our language does not allow us, let alone encourage us, to lie. It is and always will be about INTENTIONS.

    Whichever way the hammer falls, it is still our kuleana to teach our na keiki ame na mo’opuna in how to ‘LEAD BY EXAMPLE’, to help them harness the power behind their passionate hearts and voices and guide them towards that which sustains us. That is my intention, and one of my main concerns, when responding to these threads.

    My mother always said that Vulgarity should NEVER be considered a suitable substitute for AUTHENTICITY. It’s taken me 51 years to realise that she was right. “You’re never too old to get pa’i; and so you are never too old to learn.” Mahalo, mama for showing me the power of humility, grace, and dignity.

    The plebiscite never happened because it wasn’t legal. Period.

    All rights, either imagined or realised, that were built upon the foundation of a supposed (illegal) plebiscite that did not meet the criteria are null and void.

    Yes, the original organization that spearheaded Hawaii’s downfall as a Independent Nation were initially American citizens. The U.S. government’s interest in Pearl Harbor as a naval port at the time created a treaty for tax exemptions on sugar grown here and sold in the U.S. The sugar belonged to the same American citizens involved in the overthrow and seizure of this occupied Independent Nation.

    Yes, I can find the references for this information, but it will have to wait until I have had my coffee; or until one of our Na Keiki ame Na Mo’opuna come to kokua aunty to pa’a this area. Hele mai ‘au! Como mai! Come play with us, little ones….

    This would make an excellent James Patterson book; complete with drama and intrigue. Fortunately for us, Gaellen Quinn beat him to the draw with “The Last Aloha.” Truly a heart breaking journey based on facts that were skillfully woven into a loving garland of pride, endurance, affection, perseverance, and so much more. Does it have a happy ending? Depends on your perspective. Some would argue ‘a’ole for our Queen died with the American stigma of being identified as a criminal. If asked what I thought about the ending, I would simply say, “let’s wait and see…”

    Yes, the sites I quoted from are biased; however, it doesn’t make the information biased, or any less true. Facts are facts and cannot be biased.

    The total population at the time was around 600,000. Granted, not all were eligible to vote, but 155,000 were. There were 140,000 votes tallied of which 90 – 94% were in favor of Admission. Of that 131,600 votes in favor of statehood, it’s impossible that any more than 39,000 of these votes could have been cast by Hawaiians. And that’s assuming that 1) every one of us was eligible to vote, and/or 2) every one of us voted in favor of statehood. That would mean the remaining 92,600 votes were cast by non-Hawaiians. The numbers were not in our favor. Again.

    History is written by the victors; that’s why it’s called HIS story, and not OUR story.

    The truth doesn’t change; only our perception of it does. It all depends on who’s telling the story.

    Speaking of perception, the reality that some may dismiss the truth of the series of events and machinations that led up to the seizure of our ‘aina, is a moot point. The United States government made the debate inconsequential by signing a bill.

    On November 23rd in 1993, President Clinton signed a formal apology to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the U.S. for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai’i. The United States Public Law 103-150, 103d Congress Joint Resolution 19 was then signed by Congress:

    “Whereas, prior to the arrival of the first Europeans in 1778, the Native Hawaiian people lived in a highly organized, self-sufficient, subsistent social system based on communal land tenure with a sophisticated language, culture, and religion;

    “Whereas, a unified monarchical government of the Hawaiian Islands was established in 1810 under Kamehameha I, the first King of Hawaii;

    “Whereas, from 1826 until 1893, the United States recognized the independence of the Kingdom of Hawaii, extended full and complete diplomatic recognition to the Hawaiian Government, and entered into treaties and conventions with the Hawaiian monarchs to govern commerce and navigation in 1826, 1842, 1849, 1875, and 1887;

    “Whereas, the Congregational Church (now known as the United Church of Christ), through its American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, sponsored and sent more than 100 missionaries to the Kingdom of Hawaii between 1820 and 1850;

    “Whereas, on January 14, 1893, John L. Stevens (hereafter referred to in this Resolution as the “United States Minister”), the United States Minister assigned to the sovereign and independent Kingdom of Hawaii conspired with a small group of non-Hawaiian residents of the Kingdom of Hawaii, including citizens of the United States, to overthrow the indigenous and lawful Government of Hawaii;

    “Whereas, in pursuance of the conspiracy to overthrow the Government of Hawaii, the United States Minister and the naval representatives of the United States caused armed naval forces of the United States to invade the sovereign Hawaiian nation on January 16, 1893, and to position themselves near the Hawaiian Government buildings and the Iolani Palace to intimidate Queen Liliuokalani and her Government;

    “Whereas, on the afternoon of January 17,1893, a Committee of Safety that represented the American and European sugar planters, descendants of missionaries, and financiers deposed the Hawaiian monarchy and proclaimed the establishment of a Provisional Government;

    “Whereas, the United States Minister thereupon extended diplomatic recognition to the Provisional Government that was formed by the conspirators without the consent of the Native Hawaiian people or the lawful Government of Hawaii and in violation of treaties between the two nations and of international law;

    “Whereas, soon thereafter, when informed of the risk of bloodshed with resistance, Queen Liliuokalani issued the following statement yielding her authority to the United States Government rather than to the Provisional Government:

    “I Liliuokalani, by the Grace of God and under the Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against myself and the Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a Provisional Government of and for this Kingdom.

    “That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America whose Minister Plenipotentiary, His Excellency John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops to be landed a Honolulu and declared that he would support the Provisional Government.

    “Now to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life, I do this under protest and impelled by said force yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representatives and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the Constitutional Sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.”.

    Done at Honolulu this 17th day of January, A.D. 1893.;

    “Whereas, without the active support and intervention by the United States diplomatic and military representatives, the insurrection against the Government of Queen Liliuokalani would have failed for lack of popular support and insufficient arms;

    “Whereas, on February 1, 1893, the United States Minister raised the American flag and proclaimed Hawaii to be a protectorate of the United States;

    “Whereas, the report of a Presidentially established investigation conducted by former Congressman James Blount into the events surrounding the insurrection and overthrow of January 17, 1893, concluded that the United States diplomatic and military representatives had abused their authority and were responsible for the change in government;

    “Whereas, as a result of this investigation, the United States Minister to Hawaii was recalled from his diplomatic post and the military commander of the United States armed forces stationed in Hawaii was disciplined and forced to resign his commission;

    “Whereas, in a message to Congress on December 18, 1893, President Grover Cleveland reported fully and accurately on the illegal acts of the conspirators, described such acts as an “act of war, committed with the participation of a diplomatic representative of the United States and without authority of Congress”, and acknowledged that by such acts the government of a peaceful and friendly people was overthrown;

    “Whereas, President Cleveland further concluded that a “substantial wrong has thus been done which a due regard for our national character as well as the rights of the injured people requires we should endeavor to repair” and called for the restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy;

    “Whereas, the Provisional Government protested President Cleveland’s call for the restoration of the monarchy and continued to hold state power and pursue annexation to the United States;

    “Whereas, the Provisional Government successfully lobbied the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate (hereafter referred to in this Resolution as the “Committee”) to conduct a new investigation into the events surrounding the overthrow of the monarchy;

    “Whereas, the Committee and its chairman, Senator John Morgan, conducted hearings in Washington, D.C., from December 27,1893, through February 26, 1894, in which members of the Provisional Government justified and condoned the actions of the United States Minister and recommended annexation of Hawaii;

    “Whereas, although the Provisional Government was able to obscure the role of the United States in the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, it was unable to rally the support from two-thirds of the Senate needed to ratify a treaty of annexation;

    “Whereas, on July 4, 1894, the Provisional Government declared itself to be the Republic of Hawaii;

    “Whereas, on January 24, 1895, while imprisoned in Iolani Palace, Queen Liliuokalani was forced by representatives of the Republic of Hawaii to officially abdicate her throne;

    “Whereas, in the 1896 United States Presidential election, William McKinley replaced Grover Cleveland;

    “Whereas, on July 7, 1898, as a consequence of the Spanish-American War, President McKinley signed the Newlands Joint Resolution that provided for the annexation of Hawaii;

    “Whereas, through the Newlands Resolution, the self-declared Republic of Hawaii ceded sovereignty over the Hawaiian Islands to the United States;

    “Whereas, the Republic of Hawaii also ceded 1,800,000 acres of crown, government and public lands of the Kingdom of Hawaii, without the consent of or compensation to the Native Hawaiian people of Hawaii or their sovereign government;

    “Whereas, the Congress, through the Newlands Resolution, ratified the cession, annexed Hawaii as part of the United States, and vested title to the lands in Hawaii in the United States;

    “Whereas, the Newlands Resolution also specified that treaties existing between Hawaii and foreign nations were to immediately cease and be replaced by United States treaties with such nations;

    “Whereas, the Newlands Resolution effected the transaction between the Republic of Hawaii and the United States Government;

    “Whereas, the indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands to the United States, either through their monarchy or through a plebiscite or referendum;

    “Whereas, on April 30, 1900, President McKinley signed the Organic Act that provided a government for the territory of Hawaii and defined the political structure and powers of the newly established Territorial Government and its relationship to the United States;

    “Whereas, on August 21,1959, Hawaii became the 50th State of the United States;

    “Whereas, the health and well-being of the Native Hawaiian people is intrinsically tied to their deep feelings and attachment to the land;

    “Whereas, the long-range economic and social changes in Hawaii over the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries have been devastating to the population and to the health and well-being of the Hawaiian people;

    “Whereas, the Native Hawaiian people are determined to preserve, develop and transmit to future generations their ancestral territory, and their cultural identity in accordance with their own spiritual and traditional beliefs, customs, practices, language, and social institutions;

    “Whereas, in order to promote racial harmony and cultural understanding, the Legislature of the State of Hawaii has determined that the year 1993, should serve Hawaii as a year of special reflection on the rights and dignities of the Native Hawaiians in the Hawaiian and the American societies;

    “Whereas, the Eighteenth General Synod of the United Church of Christ in recognition of the denomination’s historical complicity in the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893 directed the Office of the President of the United Church of Christ to offer a public apology to the Native Hawaiian people and to initiate the process of reconciliation between the United Church of Christ and the Native Hawaiians; and

    “Whereas, it is proper and timely for the Congress on the occasion of the impending one hundredth anniversary of the event, to acknowledge the historic significance of the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, to express its deep regret to the Native Hawaiian people, and to support the reconciliation efforts of the State of Hawaii and the United Church of Christ with Native Hawaiians;

    “Now, therefore, be it

    “Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled.”

    ——————————————————————————–

    That took the whole pot of coffee.

    The documents, petitions, and knowledge has been shared and acknowledged. Any more debates on the matter are inconsequential.

    Keep in mind that this formal document has a Disclaimer attached to the bottom…where The End should have been displayed instead:

    “Nothing in this Joint Resolution is intended to serve as a settlement of any claims against the United States.”

    It could be seen as an “I’m sorry we did this to you, we were wrong, but we aren’t going to stop doing it.” apology. I would like to see it as an,”We were wrong and we’re acknowledging that, but we do not have the power to undo it. That kuleana belongs to the court of law. Good luck, best wishes.” apology.

    And an apology from me is due for not wording my question properly, thus leaving it open to assumption and misunderstandings. The question was, “Haven’t you done enough?” It should have read:

    “Haven’t you done enough damage?”; to the Hawaiian people with defamation to our character, to our beloved ‘aina. Haven’t you done enough damage with these series of events and machinations to validate the seizure of natural resources that you claim to “recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role”?

    To speak of knowledge of our delicate environment yet still continue in these acts of blatant disregard of the knowledge absolves you of innocence of wrongdoing. You obviously know. If we just took better care of what we have on this planet, or had, we would not be forced to go looking elsewhere for more.

    When words and actions do not match, our people have the inherent voracity to hunt, to dig deep to find the hidden meanings. We have never needed a telescope or the necessity to destroy our ‘aina in order to do that.

    Trading the water of life for general science is not how to show one’s reverence for nature. Compromising your own human values for life for a method that will destroy the fundamental basics that sustain life is not how one shows a reverence for nature. Digging deep enough to steal the Helium that is within our Mauna’s fumaroles in order to continue feeding into a technological way of life that is destructive to our planet is not how one shows reverence for nature.

    A cartoon depiction of Noah’s Ark adrift on an endless sea comes to mind; Noah stands on deck while his son, dangling by a rope broadside of the ark, is carefully stripping plank by plank off of the hull in order to provide his father materials to build something on the ark that he feels he needs to sustain himself and his family. I believe I still have that newspaper clipping.

    We are biting the hand that has always fed us, as the natural resources are being stripped out of the planet that our very existence depends on. Studies have shown that by 2030, almost half the world will live under conditions of high water stress. Let’s not be one of them. This makes it impossible to consider the survival of our next generation when we can’t even guarantee our own.

    Our Mauna, our ‘Aina, our Ancestors, our People see this topic of economy being more important that environment as shaky grounds. Our Ancestors even shake the ground itself to show their displeasure.

    The news report shows yet another quake had occurred shaking the Big Island of Hawai’i at a magnitude of 4.5 six miles under the ground. Perhaps Na Kupuna are planning to meet you half way on that digging. Do not worry, the people of Antiquity will be there to cheer on those of Modernity who will lead us by example in how to revere a mountain, our Mauna aWakea.

    Mahalo for letting me share my mana’o.

77. There were protestors for WalMart on site; and even though it was being built on private land, it was still being built over the bones of the Ancestors. It was unethical and immoral but reverence for cultural concerns were addressed by building it anyways. The TMT project is an amplification of “concerns addressed”, on all levels, largely due to location.

78. The numbers will always be small. Thanks to the spreading of disease after First Contact was made in 1778, the Hawaiian population took a nose dive from 1,000,000 to 39,000 people by 1959. Still, for our people it was always about quality, not quantity. Our Ancestors walk beside us. For each protector that chooses to stand, there is a long proud lineage of Ancestors that stand with them. You just have to use better eyes to see them.

79. Omg listen to yourself now I’m just saying and it is the truth 1st of all if US didn’t do what they might have or did someone else definitely would have. Just think about it that’s reality.and 2nd if what you said happens EVERYTHING YOU HAVE WILL GO AS WELL. And probably even you wouldn’t de here either because for the simple fact that you are probably not 100% Hawaiian. If you are that’s great and I’m sorry I’m just speaking the truth and facts. I was born and raised in Hilo lived here all my life. I understand the importance of Hawaiian lands I respect it. But understand this you know how much money Hawaiian programs are getting from this…. A BUTT LOAD and that’s a fact

80. Really just saying if you yourself are not 100% Hawaiian and don’t lie then you are living here as you call it ILLEGALLY

81. No man wants to be governed by another. Not red, yellow, brown, white, green, republican, democrat, man, nor women. All people want and have the same desires and needs. It’s strange, how your religion says that you are absolutely free to practice your beliefs, while at the same time it tells us, the million reasons why, we can not practice ours. HYPOCRITE !!!! Ayyy…you tell us we have a choice ? Do you mean YOUR choices, for us ? We only get to choose YOUR choice ? What is your choice for Us ? That’s killing us every day, that’s making us sick ? Your choice is nothing but a face down, steaming hot plate of you know what, regurgitated, and heaved back out again. you know what. Look at the children’s year books, all the unreal, interesting, things, quotes, the dreams they talk about, these kids have the same hopes and dreams you do, they aren’t stupid either. They know what’s up. Don’t sell their hopes short, don’t sell them short. Encourage them. Be proud of these young people rallying. They have given all their lives, and suffered for this so called American freedom of speech, now let them practice what they have paid for, and severely.

82. I cant hear your voice of reason in a sea of ” haole go home” chants. Your the minority, see this comment section below for examples

83. They’re no bones on the mountain, sorry to disapoint you. The aquifer won’t be tampered with and the toxic waste will be disposed of properly.

84. Aloha!!!!

85. Better check on your research….what help are the Hawaiian people getting from leasing that land to UH? ONE DOLLAR a year in rent????

86. YES!

87. Not the same thing….Hawaii had a Constitution and had treaties with many Nations, including the United States when the illegal take over occurred. NOT the same thing…Hawaii was not conquered, it was STOLEN>

88. are there really any 100% Hawaiians anymore????

89. Exactly- 7 years to say something! I’m Hawaiian and I support the TMT.

90. Merrie Monarch Festivities happening and we only see King Kalakaua in the light of hula and cultural preservation. Our King was more than that. He was Hawaiian and loved and valued his culture. He was also a forward thinker and embraced astronomy, commissioning the first telescope in Hawai’i. He also readily embraced other cultures and ethnicities. If he were alive today I’m sure he’d be up there during the construction of the TMT project and have a cultural celebration and ceremony to welcome the new telescope.

91. Money and jobs are the driving force for greed and oppression. Is this the only thing that’s important any more. Perhaps extinction of the stupid human race by GMO’s, fluoridation, vaccinations, chemtrails are is a good thing after all.

92. You are a loose stool. What? Education creates opportunities. Money pays for a good education. Money is earned with well paying jobs. There are well paid jobs on the TMT project. Maybe you should read more and eat more fiber.

93. No one has made the argument that the TMT is necessary. There are, however, many positive arguments for building it. There are fewer people like you that don’t want it there. People understand that too. So go call your state officials, collect signatures and do what you have to do to stop it. Once again, the impact to Mauna Kea is minimal.

94. Well said. Mahalo.

95. Maybe you should post a selfie of your daily or weekly rituals on Mauna Kea for the world to see how deeply it moves you? I didn’t see any of you 20 years ago at 5:30 am each day by the base camp. Yeah, nice to see that you finally figured out there are telescopes up there. I’m thrilled I could pay the workers on Subaru and Keck II! LOL You’re welcome by the way.

96. You may be right, and this is the downfall of the human race.

97. I agree.

98. Promise? Like other broken promises before?

99. Those are not facts. That’s your opinion. Learn the difference.

100. You meant 90% white businessmen living in hawaii voted for statehood.

101. STFU

102. Jade, ice is bad for you.

103. Yeah, you loved your kingdom so much you moved to San Francisco?

104. Spoken like a true socialist. I could care less if you want to stay unemployed and eat dirt but there are a lot of other Hawaiians who want a better life. Yes, that includes working a job for money….not waiting by the mailbox for the welfare check from the big bad US government.

105. I guess the truth hurts, huh? Where were those 300 people twenty years ago when JNT and Keck II were being built? I didn’t see any of you then. Maybe if the Hawaiians would stop doing ICE and protesting scientific projects that create well paying jobs, they wouldn’t need to stuff their faces with Costco/Walmart garbage paid for with government handouts?

106. Hey, you’re the goofy lookin dude that skis on Mauna Kea. I didn’t see your drum?

107. I treat the islands better than the natives. I don’t fear you and I definitely don’t hang my head for anyone. You can thank me now because I helped build Subaru and Keck II.

108. If you can’t spell it correctly, it must not be true. LOL

109. No.

110. You’re a joke. The racism exhibited in Hawaii has actually gotten worse in the past 3 decades. You certainly don’t help mitigate it.

111. STFU Jaded chick. “Go study history class against”? WTF More threats? I can’t wait until the telescope is built.LOL

112. No shame. I didn’t take your land. I just helped build telescopes on it. LOL

113. Ah, Mr. Poser is so righteous. If you really hate the US so badly, what have you done to make it better? Nothing.

114. Actually, I was taken from Kalihi Valley in 1947 and was unable to reside here again until 2008… My Hawaiian mother was so brainwashed by US schooling here, she would not talk about her family’s history so my knowledge of Hawaiian history was limited to the US fabrication… I now study Hawaiian history and ‘ōlelo and teach 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade Hawaiian studies…

115. The word culture has become a weapon of choice and nothing else.

116. Dlam… the impact may be minimal to you but it isn’t for us.. there’s meaningful reasons why we don’t want it there… I did sign my petition and I am also sharing this story with others to see how they feel.. if they feel strongly that they don’t want it there I tell them where to go to sign the petition. I’m sharing my opinion and don’t expect a comment back especially from those who don’t understand where we are coming from. Don’t comment back to me please.

117. Some of these comments show your ultimate stupidly, because if they had a statewide vote on this subject, you would get trounced. So you build your place of worship up on the highest mountain, and in the deepest valleys. It’s your perogitive right ? You worship how you see fit. Bless you for it. To say they are not friends of science is about the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard, I think they have been incredibly tolerant with your sciences, Frankenstein. When your not inbreeding goats with rabbits, genetically mutating gods food systems, on and on you go. If some one said hey your mountain has a wonderful view for science, therefore we’re building it over your sacred place of worship. There are many sacred mountains and land across the world that will never allow desecration. Jeez, they have allowed bombing in their back yards, for years, I wonder if they on another sacred island, they have allowed more building on the very base of this sacred site, then allowed more development on the top of it. It seems they have been very tolerant of your sciences.

118. What is missing is a disconnect from the earth. The mountains, the sea, the trees and all of nature needs our care especially now. The telescope does not address that and it is not their mission to do so. The mountain is in a conservation district. The religious rights of the native people of the land are being violated. The construction will damage the area and the mountain will be blasted into in order to set the foundation. The most simple things are so easy to see when you open your eye to see. The ancient ways are a great teacher. These beautiful places can continue to stand the test of time if taken cared of and protected from such “progress”. Advancements in science are great but not when it deprives people of their culture, heritage, sacred places and sense of home. Can you intellectuals understand that the people do not want it built on their precious island mountain? Build it somewhere it can do what it does without harm to another people and their way of life. We have not been selfish, all through history Hawaiians have had to struggle to maintain their cultural identity and maintain what we have. If you havent been here in a while you might see that it is overdeveloped and the quality of life is not the same. Would you allow TMT to build on your piece of land or an area you love? If so good call them up and invite them to your place. We already have telescopes and we have to deal with those. No more. Enough is enough. #AlohaAina #LoveforMaunaKea #AoleTMT.

119. Not true at all my best friend is haole and so is my significant other. Its not what they are but who they are and they are great. You may feel that way because you have not really had the pleasure of living or being around people that have true aloha. I feel sad for you. It is the most beautiful thing. You should also understand that the Hawaiians were made to feel shame and taught not to speak their native tongue or dress as they did or worship.They had to push their culture underground. They were made to convert to Christianity. Many changes happened and we are still thought of as the minority in our own home lands. That is the sad part. I want to see my people rise and excel and keep these islands.

120. I have a question. If TMT did not pay rent or pay monies towards their THINK or STEM programs would you still be supportive?

121. Minimal my okole! Go have someone dig a hole two stories under your house then 18 stories on top for couple years and see if you feel the same. There will definitely be impact maybe you should search the TMT sites for the diagrams regarding construction and plans but oh wait…they took em down today. I have been questioning them. No answer yet except that they were working on something hmmmm perhaps editing LOL. We have rallied, signed petitions, all of that and will continue.