Game of Thrones actor leads protests over $1.4bn astronomy telescope on ground sacred to native Hawaiians

• Manua Kea mountain was burial ground for Native Hawaiians and is sacred
• Construction recently began for $1.4billion Thirty Meter Telescope
• Native groups calling for 30-day moratorium as discussions continue
• Thirty-one people arrested on Thursday as they sat on road to the site 
• Game of Thrones actor Jason Momoa joined protests in his home state  

By Associated Press and Christopher Brennan For Dailymail.com

Published: 22:05 EST, 3 April 2015 | Updated: 11:40 EST, 5 April 2015

Scientists hoping to see 13 billion light years away, giving them a look into the early years of the universe, are facing opposition from Native Hawaiian groups looking to preserve their past.

Demonstrators including Game of Thrones actor Jason Momoa demanded the state and University of Hawaii stop construction of a new $1.4 billion telescope on sacred land. 

Dozens of protesters were arrested on Thursday at the Mauna Kea site, a mountain burial ground said to be visited by the snow goddess Poli'Ahu and a Native Hawaiian leader has called for a 30-day moratorium on construction.

Thirty-one people were arrested during protests blocking access to the construction site for the $1.4billion Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii

Protesters say that the mountaintop, where scientists are building the facility to see 13billlion years into the past, is on top of sacred burial ground land

The Thirty Meter Telescope will be one of the largest space observation facilities in the world when its scheduled construction is completed (artist's rendering)

Peter Apo, a trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, said he's asking Governor David Ige and University of Hawaii President David Lassner to bring people together to work out a long-term solution. 

'Hawaiians absolutely believe in science. How that plays out on this mountain is going to be a matter of getting the right set of people in the room to negotiate some sort of compromise that everyone can live with,' Apo said.

However, he stated that stopping construction of the 18-story facility is key before progress is made.

'You can't even get to the discussion point until they stop construction,' he said.

Apo said the state should revisit how it manages the summit, which belonged to the Hawaiian monarchy until the US-backed overthrow of the island kingdom in 1893.

The state holds former kingdom lands in trust for the Hawaiian people, who see the site as sacred.

'It is the burial grounds of some of our most sacred and revered ancestors,' said Kealoha Pisciotta, a project opponent. 

'It is a place where we go for sanctuary and release from the world around us, and it is also the home of our god.'

The governor's chief of staff, Mike McCartney, said his office is involved in discussions about the controversy but must decline comment to allow productive conversations to continue.

University spokesman Dan Meisenzahl said the school welcomes all calls for more dialogue and is actively meeting and addressing the issue at the highest levels.

Game of Thrones actor Jason Momoa, who is native Hawaiian, attended protests and posted pictures of himself thrusting his staff in the direction of current Mauna Kea telescopes

The future Aquaman star said that no more dynamite should be used on top of the mountain, which is sacred to Kanaka Maoli

The dispute has pitted Native Hawaiians, who believe the telescope site is sacred because it is where their creation story begins, against scientists, who believe it's an ideal location for one of the world's largest telescopes.

The land is in a remote and sheltered position, nestled in the crater of a dormant volcano.

About 300 protesters gathered at the mountain Thursday, and police and state law enforcement arrested 20 people who tried to block a road leading to the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii's Big Island.

Eleven more were arrested atop the peak of the dormant volcano, the highest point in the state, for alleged trespassing. 

Visitors to the protests have included Game of Thrones actor and native Hawaiian Jason Momoa, who said that the demonstrators were 'protectors not protesters'.

The future Aquaman star, who is Kanaka Maoli, posted pictures on his Instagram thrusting a staff into the air in the direction of current Mauna Kea telescopes.

He said no more dynamite should be used at the mountaintop.

Poli'Ahu, the native Hawaiian snow goddess of Mauna Kea, is said to often descend to the mountain's summit

The mountain, which already holds 13 telescope facilities, is also the burial ground for previous generations of native Hawaiians 

Numbers are expected to swell ahead of an upcoming cultural festival in nearby Hilo, according to Hawaii News Now.

The demonstrations have now drawn in Native Hawaiian leaders from other islands. 

Project opponents question whether land appraisals were done correctly and whether Native Hawaiian groups were consulted, so they have tried to prevent construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope.

Project leaders say they regret the arrests but safe access to the site needs to be preserved.

While the Native Hawaiian groups do not oppose the telescope itself, they disagree with constructing it on Mauna Kea. 

All of the highest points in the islands are considered the home of deities, Pisciotta said.

The snow goddess Poli´ahu is said to often descend on the mountain top, according to the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy.

The mountain also hosts her sister goddesses Lilinoe, Waiau, and Kahoupokane, who are sometimes compared to Christian and Muslim angels.

Scientists hope that building the Thirty Meter Telescope will allow them to answer fundamental questions about the universe

The project includes a thirty meter segmented mirror and scientists say it will drastically increase the ability of scientists to see images from light years away and detect Earth-like planets

Researchers, who have already built 13 telescopes atop Mauna Kea, picked the site for their new project because of its remoteness and ideal observation conditions 

Protests against the alleged incursion onto sacred land also disrupted a groundbreaking ceremony last year.

Construction was delayed early last month because of blizzard conditions at the top of the sometimes snowy mountain.

Gary Sanders, the Thirty Meter Telescope project manager, said Friday his organization appreciates the support it's received from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, including in 2009 when the agency endorsed the selection of Mauna Kea as the site for the observatory.

Sanders said the telescope has been communicating with the governor's office and the university president. 

He stressed the telescope has been discussing the project with the public since 2008, when it filed a notice for an environmental impact statement.

There are currently still lawsuits pending against the construction challenging its land use claims.

The university leases the land at Mauna Kea from the state and then subleases it to the Thirty Meter Telescope project. 

A partnership of Canadian and US universities plans to build the observatory along with institutions in China, India and Japan.

There are currently 13 telescopes at the summit, including some of the world's most advanced. The first was built in the late 1960s.

Protesters apprehended Thursday paid $250 in bail and were released. Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee Peter said that the demonstrators are sometimes viewed with 'intellectual snobbery' (File photo, March 30)

Apo (right) has asked the governor and the University of Hawaii to bring both sides of the conflict together during a moratorium

Apo said that Hawaii leases the land for $1 a year and the university gives it to the observatory for $1 a year.

However, the trustee said that the observatories generate millions of dollars in revenue by selling viewing time and that 'monetary value of Mauna Kea viewing time is astronomical'.

He said Native Hawaiians have a profound interest in science but that they are 'viewed through a lens of intellectual snobbery,' he wrote in Honolulu Civil Beat. 

Scientists, who picked the site because of its remoteness and ideal observation conditions, hope that building the bigger telescope will allow them to answer fundamental questions about the universe. 

It will feature a segmented mirror thirty meters in diameter and researchers say it will be able to detect Earth-like planets close to other stars as well as revealing more information about dark matter.

The Hubble Space Telescope has a two and a half meter mirror. 

The people arrested Thursday were trying to block trucks heading to the peak. Work got underway after the protesters were arrested and the path to the summit was cleared.

Police said they warned protesters who formed a roadblock Monday that anyone who obstructed the street would be arrested. 

Those apprehended Thursday were released after each posting bail of $250.

The observatory is expected to be operational by 2024, the same year a 39-meter telescope is expected to be completed in Chile. 

The Thirty Meter Telescope and what it means for science

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