We share such a beautiful world. If nothing else, may we always find commonality and conversation on that basis. ~ Melanie Charlene

1. MAUNA KEA – THIRTY-METER TELESCOPE (TMT)
THE SPIRIT OF THE MOUNTAIN – NATIVE HAWAIIAN CULTURE – THE DESECRATION
THE SPIRIT OF THE MOUNTAIN – NATIVE HAWAIIAN PEOPLE – THE DISRESPECT
THE PROMISE
Governor David Ige's Priorities for Hawai'i
<https://governor.hawaii.gov/governor-david-iges-priorities-for-hawaii%CA%BBi/>
To have a state government that is honest, transparent and responsive to its citizens.
To change the trajectory of Hawai'i by restoring faith in government and establishing the Hawaiian
Islands as a place future generations choose to call home.
Honor, respect, and promote Native Hawaiian culture and sustainability.
Support the Native Hawaiian community's ongoing efforts for a Hawaiian-based governance structure.
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LEADERSHIP THE REALITY
Leaders who win respect of others are the ones who deliver more than they promise,
not the ones who promise more than they can deliver. ~ Mark Clement
Respect is a two-way street, if you want to get it, you've got to give it. ~ R.G. Risch
Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disregard for other cultures.
~ Cesar Chavez
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did but
people will never forget how you made them feel. ~ Maya Angelou
Respect a man, and he will do all the more. ~ John Wooden
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THE DESECRATION AND THE DISRESPECT
Disrespecting Cultural Issues on Mauna Kea
The state's removal of two structures on the mountain ignored traditional and customary rights laws
By Trisha Kehaulani Watson. Honolulu Civil Beat. June 26, 2019.
<https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/06/trisha-kehaulani-watson-disrespecting-cultural-issues-on-mauna-kea/>
The state removed at least two ahu. [altars or cairns made of stone] Two from the summit
within the project area where the TMT is to be built, and another ahu fondly named Hale o
Kukiaimauna (roughly translated as “home of the steadfast guardians of the mountain”),
located off the Mauna Kea Access Road from the Mauna Kea visitor information station.
[Clarification Supplied]

2. The state Supreme Court held last year that the two ahu located at the summit were not
protected under laws that protect Hawaiian traditional customary practices. Further, the state
determined the structures were “unpermitted structures,” because they are located within the
conservation district and therefore would typically require authorization from DLNR before
being built.
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THE LAW
HAWAI'I LEGAL RESEARCH: CULTURAL RIGHTS
William S. Richardson School of Law
University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
<https://law-hawaii.libguides.com/c.php?g=125434&p=1438801>
Native Hawaiian traditional and cultural rights are secured by article XII, Section 7 of
Hawaii State Constitution.
“The State reaffirms and shall protect all rights, customarily and traditionally exercised for
subsistence, cultural and religious purposes and possessed by ahupua'a tenants who are
descendants of Native Hawaiians who inhabited the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778, subject
to the State to regulate such rights”.
“In determining whether rights have been customarily and traditionally exercised, the court
looks to kama'aina (native-born) testimony and affidavits describing the history and
traditional practices of Native Hawaiians living in that geographic area.
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METHODS OF JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION
Adapted from “Methods of Judicial Interpretation”
By Joey Senat, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Oklahoma State University
<https://media.okstate.edu/faculty/jsenat/jb3163/methods/htm
LITERALISM: literal text of the Statute
ORIGINAL INTENT: historical basis; intent/motives of framers
DOCTRINAL APPROACH: follow precedent – Stare decisis
COMPETING INTERESTS: balance one interest against another
STRUCTURALISM: larger relationships within the Statute not specific provisions
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
Hawaii v. Mankichi 190 U.S. 197 (1903)
Justia US Supreme Court Center
<https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/190/197/>
In interpreting a statute, the intention of the lawmaking power will prevail even against the
letter of the statute; a thing may be within the letter of the statute and not within its
meaning, and within its meaning, though not within its letter. Symthe v. Fisk, 23 Wall. 374

3. GOVERNOR DAVID IGE
Malama Honua
By Katie Mettler, The Washington Post
June 7, 2017
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/06/07/malama-honua-hawaii-says-as-it-becomes-first-state-to-pass-laws-supporting-paris-
accord/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.53a4f42dafc7>
Like the the voyaging canoe Hokule'a, we are one canoe, one island, one planet.
We cannot afford to mess this up. We are setting a course to change the trajectory
of Hawaii and islanders for generations to come.
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WISDOM FROM OUR BRETHREN ACROSS THE WATERS
Being Indian is mainly in your heart. It's a way of walking with the earth instead of upon it.
~ David Ipinia, Yurok
Native American isn't blood. It is what is in the heart. The love of the land, respect for it,
those who inhabit it, and respect and acknowledgment of the spirits and elders.
That is what it is to be Indian.
~ White Feather, Navajo Medicine Man
O' Great Spirit, I want no more blood upon my land to stain the grass. I want it all clear and
pure, and I wish it so, that all who go through my people may find it peaceful when they
come, and leave peacefully when they go.
~ Ten Bears, Yamparika Comanche
KE OLA Magazune MAUNA KEA Photo by Andrew Richard Hara