A Day on the Mountain The journey began when I received an email ...
Transcript of A Day on the Mountain The journey began when I received an email ...
A Day on the Mountain The journey began when I received an email on July 1 that contained a copy of a message posted on Facebook. The message said that the Rangers working for the Office of Mauna Kea Management (OMKM) had announced new rules governing spiritual practice on Mauna a Wākea. Anyone wishing to ascend the Mountain to offer ho’okupu or otherwise pule (pray) had to be present at 1:00 p.m. At that time, the practitioner would be allowed to go up the Mountain accompanied by a Ranger. No more than ten people could go up at one time. Those ascending had one hour in which to practice their religion. As an attorney and a haumana (student) in the Temple of Lono, these rules astonished me. The idea that a State agency would think that it could so strictly regulate the time and place for a religious practice clearly demonstrated a true ignorance of the United States Constitution, particularly the First Amendment. The next day, I went up to the Mountain to interview Protectors. I found that the new rules had in fact been issued and that the Rangers were enforcing them. If a practitioner arrived late, he or she could not go up the Mountain. This complete exclusion by a government agency of an opportunity to engage in religious practice represented a State assumption of power having no support in the Constitution or laws of the United States. I returned home and briefed the Kahuna of the Temple of Lono on my findings. He agreed that court action was appropriate. I began preparing papers to file in United States Federal court in Honolulu seeking a Temporary Restraining Order directed to the Governor, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), and the OMKM. I wanted to file on July 3 and discovered that the Federal Court was closed for the holiday and that there was no 24 hour system for securing a TRO. I waited until Monday, July 6, flew to Honolulu, and filed the Complaint and TRO Petition. While normally such an action is heard immediately, the judge assigned the case was in trial and not available that day. I returned to Kurtistown to wait for notice from the court. On Thursday, July 9, I went before Judge Derrick Watson. We had a lengthy discussion in which the Judge’s bottom line was that I had not presented enough evidence to support the issuance of a TRO. There were also problems with exactly who had jurisdiction to be issuing the rules. Also, the DLNR was going to hold a public hearing the next day on adopting other rules related to the ability of the Protectors to exercise their rights, so the rules situation was in flux. The Judge suggested one of two pathways forward. I could continue pursuing the TRO and he would require more briefing from the parties to see if he could get
clarity in the record or I could pull back the TRO and proceed to a Preliminary Injunction that would be a more deliberative process allowing the development of a better record. In either case, the Judge said there was no need to decide that day. I would have time to consult with the Kahuna of the Temple of Lono and others to determine how we would go forward. On Friday, July 10, I watched the hearing before the DLNR Board. Again, constitutionally protected rights were being ignored in order to put in place rules and regulations that would end the Protector’s vigil, suppress the spiritual and political movement opposing the TMT, and make it easier for the TMT to be built. On Saturday, I decided to make my own pilgrimage to the altar built by the Protectors on the TMT site. I had errands that I needed to do in the morning and found myself rushing around trying to get them done so that I could be on the Mountain by 1:00. How absurd that I needed to rush what I was doing because some State bureaucrat had decided when I could engage in spiritual practice. I stopped at Pu’uhulu to make an offering and then proceeded up to the Visitor Center. There I was reminded of the total foolishness on the part of the DLNR in forcing the removal of the porta potties brought to the site by the Protectors. OMKM had closed the Visitor Center bathrooms and the porta potties. The Protectors were simply filling in for DLNR’s failure. How absurd that an agency charged with protecting health, safety, and ecological resources would create a situation where hundreds of visitors to the Mountain would have no bathroom facilities. That obvious contradiction simply illustrated that the actions being taken were political, not legitimate regulatory functions. When the time came to ascend the Mountain, I found myself in the company of Aunty Kanani, her sister, and her son. She had flown in from Oahu to meet her son coming in from Okinawa with a determination to be up on the Mountain to celebrate her 73rd birthday. Kanani’s son drove us up the Mountain with the OMKM Ranger in his truck ahead of us. The incredible beauty of the Mountain, the sky, and the clouds lifted our spirits. When we arrived at the TMT site, I started to walk past the TMT personnel on site to go to the altar, which is about thirty yards from the entrance to the property. The TMT personnel started to object. I said that I had come to the Mountain to pray at the altar and that was fully my intention. The Ranger and the TMT personnel allowed us to go in. Given the altitude of 14,000 feet, we walked slowly, with Aunty’s son on one side or her and me on the other. As we approached the altar, the mana flowing off was very
powerful. The physical beauty and serene nature of the elevated rock formation stood in stark contrast to the heavy equipment waiting to gouge out the Mountain. When we were within a few feet of the altar, we all began to feel the effects. Aunty barely made it to the altar before slipping into a mournful wailing that had us all crying. In between sobs, her “‘Auwe” drew the spirits to the site. As Aunty lamented, her sister prayed for the Protectors of the Mountain to be strong and safe. My own practice includes a Native American flute that joined my travels many years ago and certain crystals and other Earth representations of Pele, the Mountain, and elements of the Garden. With these, I connected through the altar to the planet, offering my love and prayers for the success of the Protectors. When we finished our practice, we took a slow stroll back to our vehicle. Aunty had to pause every now and then to catch her breath. The TMT employees were amazed that she persevered where younger people have passed out. On the way back to the Visitor Center, Aunty told me that she had come prepared with bail money, in case her kuleana involved getting arrested. She asked me to please keep her informed so that if she was needed she could return. The ride down the Mountain was beautiful. I joined Aunty and her family for some food and then said our farewells. I stopped at Pu’uhuluhulu to play a final piece from my flute connecting the altars at the two locations. Aunty will be in my thoughts and prayers as the defense of the Mountain unfolds.