ʻO ko Hōkūleʻa holo ʻana i Tahiti i ka makahiki 1976; ka paio e pau ai ka hoʻopahū ʻia ʻana o Kahoʻolawe ma ia makahiki hoʻokahi; a me ka hoʻokumu ʻia o ka Pūnana Leo i ka makahiki 1983. He mau hanana huliau ke ʻano ma ka mōʻaukala o ko ka Hawaiʻi ʻimi ʻana i ka hoʻōla hou ʻana i nā hana kuʻuna a kuanaʻike Hawaiʻi. ʻAʻole i ʻike hou ʻia ia ʻano hanana nui koʻikoʻi e alu like ai nā kini a lehu no ka pono o ka Hawaiʻi a hiki loa mai i nā mea i ʻike ʻia ma Maunakea mai ka Hāʻulelau o ka makahiki 2015 a hiki i ia Kupulau ma hope mai.
ʻO ia kū kiaʻi ʻana iā Maunakea ka mea i hoʻokū ʻia ai ke kūkulu ʻia ʻana o ka ʻohe nānā 30-mika, ʻo Thirty Meter Telescope nō hoʻi, he hōʻoia ia i ke kūpaʻa wiwo ʻole ʻana o ka Hawaiʻi me ka hiki ʻole ke kulaʻi wale aku. Ma ka holo o ka manawa, mai ia mau hana huliau o nā 1970 a 1980 a hiki i kēia manawa, ke nui hou aku nei ke koʻikoʻi o ka hoʻōla maoli i ia mau hana kuʻuna me ke kuanaʻike Hawaiʻi; a me ka pono e komo a hoʻokele i nā ʻōnaehana e kākoʻo ana i ia mau mea no ka pono. A pēia pū ka mālama i ia kapu aloha e pono ai ka mālama pilina kānaka i waena o kākou.
Ma kēia pukana o ʻĀhaʻi ʻŌlelo Ola, e nānā kākou i ka mōʻaukala a pōʻaiapili laulā no kēia nīnūnē e kū nei no Maunakea i paʻa ai he kahua ʻike e walaʻau ʻia ai nā haʻawina waiwai loa o kēia huliau koʻikoʻi o kēia au.
Hōkūleʻa’s 1976 voyage from Hawaiʻi to Tahiti; the occupation to stop the bombing of Kahoʻolawe that same year; the establishment of the Pūnana Leo Hawaiian Language immersion program in 1983 were all critical turning points in reestablishing the validity of traditional Hawaiian practices, perspectives, and the rights to do so. There have not been events of that magnitude that galvanized the community, reawakened, and reinvigorated the Native Hawaiian cause since then until the events that unfolded on the slopes of Hawaiʻi’s majestic Maunakea during the Fall of 2015 thru the Summer of 2016.
The physical stand to stop the Thirty-Meter-Telescope (TMT) project has reaffirmed a Native Hawaiian voice that will not be silenced, as well as confirmed that we are learning more about ourselves, the perspective and practices that grounds us, the systems we need to work on and through, and how we, as a people and community, need to operate with those around us in order to be the best version of us we can be.
In this episode of ʻĀhaʻi ʻŌlelo Ola, we take a look back at the context, a bit of history, and some of the specifics of the Maunakea issue in order however to set the stage to be able to identify and further discuss some of the valuable takeaways from this significant benchmark in our history as a people.