Aloha mai kakou,Maybe this is already posted on Maoliworld somewhere else but I found this statement from our scholors, and for some of us our kumu, to be full of mana. I cut and pasted from kahea's blog.EA!! KU'E!!Aloha 'AinaKoa What?What?Kanaka Maoli Scholars Against DesecrationStatement on Mauna Kea - February 17, 2009We declare our opposition to SB 992/HB 1174 and SB 502/HB 1370 and anyother legislation bills that would transfer Mauna Kea to the University ofHawai`i (UH). These current legislative proposals would give the UHcomplete management authority over Mauna Kea and allow implementation of aplan that has no limit on telescope construction, would close publicaccess to the summit, and exempt UH from public oversight in the name ofdevelopment.Mauna Kea is a sacred summit, which is already being desecrated by theexisting science telescopes. The Hawai`i revised statute 711-1107 onDesecration specifically states that no one may commit the offense ofdesecrating “a place of worship or burial,” and the statute defines“desecrate” as “defacing, damaging, polluting, or otherwise physicallymistreating in a way that the defendant knows will outrage thesensibilities of persons likely to observe or discover the defendant’saction.” If this legislation passes, state legislators would be violatingtheir own state law.These legislative proposals also interfere with on-going litigation on thecurrent regulations governing Mauna Kea. We would also like to remindstate representatives and the general public that in the recent ThirdCircuit Court case regarding the management of Mauna Kea, the court ruledin favor of the Plaintiffs—Kealoha Pisciotta, President of Mauna KeaAnaina Hou; Debbie Ward and Nelson Ho, Co-Chairs of Mauna Kea IssuesCommittees, Sierra Club Hawai`i Island Chapter; Ali`i `Ai Moku, Paul K.Neves of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, Moku of Mamalahoa Heiau Helu`Elua; and Clarence Ku Ching, individual Native Hawaiian Practitioner—andagainst the UH and the state Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR)for violation of the regulations protecting Mauna Kea as a conservationdistrict. This lawsuit is currently on review before the IntermediateCourt of Appeals (ICA) after the University appealed the lower courtruling against them. Though the University only recently withdrew itsappeal from the ICA, counterclaims that go to the fundamental merits ofthis issue remain before the ICA.Besides blatant desecration, and interference in on-going litigation, thenegative environmental effects are numerous. As noted in the Testimony ofthe Plaintiffs regarding this legislation, two reports by the StateAuditor have found that UH’s misuse and the BLNR’s failed oversight is“inadequate to ensure the protection of natural resources, and neglected…the cultural value of Mauna Kea.” Their report further stated that theUniversity’s Institute for Astronomy “focused primarily on the developmentof Mauna Kea and tied the benefits gained to its research program,” andthat its focus on telescope construction has been “at the expense ofneglecting the site’s natural resources.” Also, in 2005, an EnvironmentalImpact Statement required by federal court order found that the cumulativeimpact of telescope activities on Mauna Kea has had a “substantial,adverse, and significant” impact.The current proposals also violate the land claims of the Hawaiian nation.These legislative attempts to transfer a portion of the Hawaiian KingdomCrown and Government Lands of which Mauna Kea is a part, is in directcontravention of the Hawai`i State Supreme Court’s holding in OHA v.Housing and Community Development Cororation of Hawai`i, 2008. The HawaiiSupreme Court barred the transfer of this land base by the state. If thislegislation passes, state legislators would be violating the state SupremeCourt ruling.This exploitative venture proposed by this legislation must be stoppedbecause the entire scheme promotes the ongoing violation of the sacredsummit of Mauna Kea; it would be irresponsible and bad public policy, aswell as a continued abuse of state power.J. Leilani Basham, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Hawaiian Studies,University of Hawai`i at West O`ahuKamanamaikalani Beamer, Ph.D., Mellon-Hawai`i Postdoctoral Fellow, KohalaCenterMaenette K.P. Ah Nee-Benham, Ed.D., Dean of Hawai`inuiakea School ofHawaiian Knowledge, University of Hawai`i, MānoaKealani Robinson Cook, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History, Universityof MichiganJ. Noelani Goodyear-Ka`ōpua, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, PoliticalScience, University of Hawai`i at MānoaLisa Kahaleole Hall, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Women’s Studies, WellsCollegeSydney Lehua Iaukea, Ph.D., Mellon-Hawai`i Postdoctoral Fellow, Kohala CenterKū Kahakalau, Ph.D., founder and director of Kanu o ka ‘Āina New CenturyPublic Charter SchoolLilikalā Kame`eleihiwa, Ph.D., Professor, Kamakakūokalani Center forHawaiian Studies, University of Hawai`i at MānoaVal Kalei Kanuha, Ph.D., M.S.W., Associate Professor of Sociology,University of Hawai`i at MānoaJ. Kēhaulani Kauanui, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Anthropology andAmerican Studies, Wesleyan UniversityBrandy Nalani McDougall, Ph.D. Candidate, English, University of Hawai`i,MānoaNoenoe K. Silva, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Political Science, Universityof Hawai`i at MānoaTy Kawika Tengan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Anthropology and EthnicStudies, University of Hawai`i at MānoaLani Teves, Ph.D. Candidate, Program in American Culture, University ofMichiganHaunani-Kay Trask, Ph.D., Professor, Kamakakūokalani Center for HawaiianStudies, University of Hawai`i, MānoaLiza Keanuenueokalani Williams, Ph.D. student, New York University-pau-
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