Storyboard: Mauna Kea
Storyboard Text
- Slide: 1
- "Our Gods are living, touching, elemental forms that are the land, " (NBC News 2019, 0:36)
- Native Hawaiians honor Mauna Kea as a sacred site, where it is believed that the summit connects Earth to the heavens. The mountain is a significant and crucial part of Native Hawaiian traditions, culture, and identity.
- Slide: 2
- However, the land has been state-owned since the 1960s where the University of Hawaii has built 13 observatories on the summit for scientific purposes. More recently, since 2014, Native Hawaiians have protested the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). (Molero 2022)
- Slide: 3
- The new observatory would be a great scientific advancement and Mauna Kea is the ideal site for construction.
- "Mauna Kea is the best place in the Northern Hemisphere, if not the world, for studying the universe," (NBC News 2019, 2:56)
- Slide: 4
- The construction of the TMT would cause Native Hawaiians to lose something so spiritually significant. The concept of an undue burden does not fully encompass the harmful extent that the construction on Mauna Kea would have on Native Hawaiian religion.
- Slide: 5
- As a response, ensuring that Mauna Kea and its religious significance is protected under the Establishment Clause is crucial. Secular interests cannot be prioritized over religious rights any longer. The plans to construct the TMT is a clear example that applies to how many Native religions are ignored on a governmental level. So, we must strive toward providing equal and inclusive protection for all religious traditions in the US.
Over 30 Million Storyboards Created
No Downloads, No Credit Card, and No Login Needed to Try!
