Jason Momoa gives passionate speech at United Nations

UNITED NATIONS

Jason Momoaa concluded his UN speech making a hand sign indicating his support for the protests against the Thirty Meter Telescopee planned for Hawaii's sacred mountain Mauna Kea. 

When Jason Momoa isn't portraying heroic figures in films, he is an environmental activist and advocate for the preservation of his Hawaiian heritage. 

He made no bones about his island roots in an impassioned speech he delivered to the United Nations last Friday.

“The oceans are in a state of emergency,” he warned. “Entire marine ecosystems are vanishing with the warming of the seas, and as the waste of our world empties into our waters, we face the devastating crisis of plastic pollution.

The star of Aquaman and the soon-to-be released dystopian See for Apple TV was addressing a meeting concerning Small Island Developing States (SIDS) – which include the Bahamas, Barbados, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Haiti – at UN headquarters in New York. 

“Island nations contribute the least to this disaster, but are made to suffer the weight of its consequences,” said the Game of Thrones star.

The meeting which Momoa addressed was held five years after the adoption of the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA Pathway) by UN member states.

The agreement outlined that the countries would acknowledge the “need to support and invest in these nations so they can achieve sustainable development.”

“We, the island nations and all coastal communities, are the frontlines in this environmental crisis,” he said. “Entire islands are drowning into the sea due to the enormous volume of emissions generated by first world countries.”

After he delivered his speech, Momoa tweeted:

“That was a life changing moment, a true honor to represent island nations at the UN,” Momoa wrote on Instagram. “It takes an amazing team and support system to pull off something like this. I am deeply grateful to my wife and children, my mother @lonelywhale@duneives @realdealmada @paakai97@maluhiakinimaka @UnitedNations@UN_PGA #kukiaimauna
#SAMOAPathway #SIDSSummit. Aloha j #purpsonpurpslookgood#wegotsomethingtosay #nomorehalf-assing #3kanakasandaMADA.”

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Sunday Read: Jason Momoa committed to Mauna Kea 'ohana'

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Actor Jason Momoa and police joke around with this photo.

Jason Momoa released a photo of his "arrest" for protesting the construction of Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) on top of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano. 

By the expressions on the faces of the police officers and the bemused look on Momoa, the photo was staged as a joke.

What is not a joke is Momoa's commitment to stopping the TMT, which would be 18 stories high and cover the area of a NFL stadium.

"It's kind of the umbilical cord to earth," the Hawaii-born actor tells CNN. "You know, if you think about the Hawaiian islands, that's the biggest mountain in the world, right? All the way up. So Mauna Kea is the most sacred. They call it the belly button, too. That's like our birth place. You can imagine that in the middle of the ocean. That's how our islands were formed. So how can that not be sacred?"

Since the plans for the TMT were unveiled in 2015, opposition has been building resulting in a blockade of the road leading up to the observatory site which was slated to begin July 16. Native Hawaiians and their supporters have thus far been able to stop the delivery of building materials.

In between photo shoots, TV appearances, prepping for "Aquaman 2," and spending time with his family, the 40-year old Momoa joins the protests when he can, often bringing his family and other celebrities with him.

In an Instagram post last week, he jokingly wrote, “Sorry Warner Bros we can’t shoot Aquaman 2. Because Jason got run over by a bulldozer trying to stop the desecration of his native land.”

He continued, “THIS iS NOT HAPPENING. WE ARE NOT LETTING YOU DO THIS ANYMORE. Enough is enough. Go somewhere else.”

Another joke? Momoa himself has often spoken about the cause and the sacrifice he is willing to make to fight for this cause:

“It’s definitely a fear of mine. You know, I, I love playing ‘Aquaman,’ and there may come a time where it happens that I’m on set on something that I really love and Warner Brothers, who has taken care of me and launched my career, and there’s a certain part of you that goes, ‘I’m human, this is something I care about, but it’s an injustice that I have to do something about,” he told CNN.

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Jason Momoa spends as much time he can on Mauna Kea. Above, he is holding the hands of son and daughter.

Scientists prefer the Mauna Kea site because of the clear and dark skies on the dormant volcano. That explains why there are already 13 observatories built on the mountain, some are no longer being used.

“We allowed astronomy to have a place on the Mauna Kea but they continue to ask for more and more and more, and we have to say no at this point. Because when we say yes it means saying yes to the destruction of our endangered lands,” said president of the Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, Kealoha Pisciotta, told the BBC.

"Most of them are outdated and they're not as big. They're just up there and they promised to remove them and they never have. It's just another one of those promises ... and we're done. We're over it," he says.

Nevertheless, recent negotiations between the demonstrators and scientists will allow access to the working observatories by bulldozing a temporary road that would skirt the blockade.

“The resolution to this situation will likely include accelerated removal of decommissioned telescopes and Hawaiian land rights and self-determination. TMT and the astronomy community should support these efforts,” says Thayne Currie, an astrophysicist at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, who uses Mauna Kea telescopes. 

“The state leadership really needs to be decisive, both on TMT’s access and on these broader issues faced in Hawaii,” Currie stated.

The demonstrations show no signs of abating. A community has formed, with shops, a cafeteria and a lecture program set up. At times, the number of protestors have been in the thousands.

The Aquaman star says he feels the anti TMT demonstrations are working and describes his part in it as a calling to do what feels right in his soul.

"There's massive progress that's bringing our people together," he says, adding, "I think there's a lot of problems in Hawaii. There's a lot of things that have happened in our history, a lot of injustice, and so we're shining a light on it. People like myself or Dwayne Johnson, Bruno Mars, trying to spread the awareness all around the world. For my soul I need to be there. If I'm not working, I'm trying to get over there."

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Celebrities, hurricanes visiting Mauna Kea protectors

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Jason Momoa posed in front of one of th 13 observatories already on Mauna Kea.

Protesters trying to stop construction of a giant telescope atop Hawaii's tallest mountain were visited by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson last week. This week, long-time ally Jason Momoa, visited the demonstrators on slopes of Mauna Kea.

Momoa, who has born in Hawaii, visited the hundreds of demonstrators encamped at the base of Mauna Kea on the Big Island on Wednesday. He had been supporting the movement to stop the construction of the Thirty-meter Telescope (TMT), which would occupy a site about the size of a football stadium and stand 18-stories high. Native Hawaiians consider the dormant volcano a sacred mountain.

"I'm so very honored to be here ... to bring my children and all my (family) here," Momoa told reported CNN affiliate KGMB/KHNL. "There's one thing that's not gonna happen. That telescope's not being built here."

Momoa, best known for playing comic book superhero Aquaman in the movies, was welcomed with a ceremony complete with hula dances and chanting, reports CNN.

Dwayne Johnson made a surprise visit to Mauna Kea late last month to lend his support to the demonstrators who have blocked the road to the telescope construction site since July 15. Johnson, the actor and former wrestler lived in Hawaii as a child.

“You have men, women, children and elderly — kupuna that we call them — who aren’t leaving,” Johnson told the Star Advertiser. “And they are so steadfast and passionate about the sacredness of this land.”

Johnson, one of the most popular actors in Hollywood who has stated his interest in running for political office one day, offered to help with talks between the state and protesters, KGMB/KHNL reported.

Among the host of other celebrities who have expressed their support of the Mauna Kea protectors include Grammy-winning Filipino American Bruno Mars, who was born on the Hawaiian island of Oahu; Damian Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley, performed . some of his father's protest songs for the demonstrators; Nicole Scherzinger, a Filipina American who grew up in the islands. 

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Nicole Scherzinger posted this image on her Instagram account.

Meanwhile, the demonstrators said they would abandon the mountain slope if an approaching hurricane hits the island.

Hawaii's Gov. David Ige on Tuesday rescinded an emergency proclamation put in place to deal with native Hawaiian protesters. Ige said there were no immediate plans to move heavy equipment to Mauna Kea's summit.

He also noted two hurricanes were approaching that could affect the protest area and the rest of the state.

Hurricane Erick, approaching from the east, is forecast to pass south of the Big Island later this week. Following right after is Hurricane Flossie, which appears on track to come close to the islands early next week.

San Francisco Giant Madison Bumgardner had his bat engraved with "We Are Mauna Kea."

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Governor meets with Mauna Kea 'protectors'

STATE OF HAWAII

Law enforcement personnel are greeted nose-to-nose, a Native Hawaiian custom, by Mauna Kea 'protectors,'

During a visit to Mauna Kea, Hawaii's Gov. David Ige referred to the 1000 people blocking the road to the top of the dormant volcano as "protectors," not "protesters," a major shift in tone in the controversy over a giant telescope slated to be built on the mountain.

When he visited the kapuna, or elderly, blocking the road, he was given a lei as he rubbed noses in the custom of Native Hawaiians.

The Japanese American governor says both he and Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim understand that the issues underlying the protests are deeper than the telescope and are about "righting the wrongs done to the Hawaiian people going back more than a century."  

Ige is asking Kim to lead efforts to find common ground with protesters blocking the construction of a 30-meter telescope at the summit of the state's tallest mountain.

Native Hawaiians say Mauna Kea is a sacred mountain to them, despite the 13 observatories that are already on the mountain. The giant telescope would dwarf the other observatories. It would occupy a 5-acre site and be 18 stories high.

Mauna Kea, say scientists, is one of the prime locations on the planet for observing space.

Protectors of Mauna Kea have been blocking the road since July 15 to prevent trucks carrying building material for the observatory.

Hawaii's Lt. Governor questions inevitability of Mauna Kea telescope

Hundreds of protesters have converged on the road leading to the top of Mauna Kea.

As the protests against the construction of a giant telescope atop Mauna Kea entered its second week, authorities sought a way to deescalate the tension and avoid any violence.

After a lengthy visit Monday with TMT protesters blocking access to Mauna Kea’s summit, Lt. Gov. Josh Green said the controversial telescope project might have to “move on” if an agreement with its opponents can’t be reached.

Protesters numbering 1500 camped out at the side of the road leading up to the 5-acre site for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), protesters consider the dormant volcano, Mauna Kea, a sacred mountain to Native Hawaiians.

There are already 13 observatories on the mountain but they would be dwarfed by the $1-billion TMT, which would stand 18 stories high. If built, the Thirty Meter Telescope would be capable of capturing images 12 times sharper than those from the Hubble Space Telescope.

“We are not anti-science,” says Pua Case, one of more outspoken Native Hawaiian activists protesting the TMT. “We are against the building of anything 18 stories over our watershed, water aquifers, on our sacred mountain. It could have been anything; it just happens to be a telescope.”

Lt. Gov. Green, the highest ranking official to visit the site, also said he’d urged Japanese American Gov. David Ige to remove law enforcement from the mountain. Last week the governor assigned 80 members of the Hawaii National Guard to secure the mountain site.

“One project can’t be allowed to disrupt the fabric of our state’s ohana,” Green told Hawaii News Now. “So if there can’t be a brokered peace that prevents that, then the TMT would have to move on.

“I think we have to have a reckoning once and for all about if TMT should go forward," Green said. "If we go forward with the TMT without absolute buy-in from the Hawaiian people that will mean that we have not respected the Hawaiian people and after all, we are in Hawaii.”

In a statement, TMT officials said they remain “hopeful” that the project “can find a way forward." The statement continued: "TMT has become an icon for larger issues within the community. We respect those who express opposition and understand the pain they feel. However, whether or not TMT is built will not bring closure to it. We remain hopeful that we can find a way forward, with mutual respect.”

In an email to Popular Science, Scott Ishikawa of Becker Communications, who identified himself as "the spokesperson with the Thirty Meter Telescope project," wrote "We respect the rights of everyone—both supporters and protesters—to express their opinions." The mountain is special, he went on, and TMT is working to "protect and conserve Mauna Kea's cultural and natural resources, becoming a model of sustainable astronomy."

“The selected site below the summit has no archaeological shrines or features and no burials,” he went on. “It has also been documented that the site was not used for traditional or customary cultural practises.”

Meanwhile, over the weekend, demonstrations and marches against the construction of the observatory spread to Waikiki, Alaska, Maui, Las Vegas, San Francisco  and Times Square in New York City. 

The Standing Rock Sioux also sent a delegation to Hawaii in support of Native Hawaiians' quest for national recognition as an indigenous people and the Hawaiians' right to protect their sacred lands.

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Mauna Kea protests continue vs. giant telescope

Mauna Kea is located on Hawaii, the Big Island.

As officials brace for more protests against the construction of a telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii's governor expressed the desire to avoid the possibility of violence.

Since mid-July, protestors have blocked the road leading up to the telescope's site atop the dormant volcano, Mauna Kea, preventing the delivery of construction material.

Gov. David Ige said that his priority is to keep everyone in the community safe, including the activists at the base of Mauna Kea. The 80 National Guard members on the Big Island since the start of the protests will remain, state officials said.

“We will not be utilizing tear gas, as some of the rumors have been (saying),” Ige said. “We are looking for the best way forward without hurting anyone.”

The only Asian American governor in the US stopped short of removing the State of Emergency, which allows the troops to remove protestors, who claim the site is sacred and is of cultural significance for Native Hawaiians.

The latest to weigh in is Presidential candidate, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, whose district includes  Mauna Kea. In a statement, she said:

"To many Native Hawaiians, kamaʻāina, and malihini alike, Mauna Kea is so much more than a mountain. It's a revered and sacred sanctuary connecting keiki and kupuna to the past, present and future, and where Native Hawaiians practice their customs and traditions.

"The materialistic way that developers and corporations are viewing Mauna Kea — ignoring the spiritual significance and relationship many Native Hawaiians have with the Mauna — is at the heart of the problem.

"It is hypocritical that many TMT proponents speak of their own spiritual quest for knowledge and wisdom, while simultaneously closing their eyes to the spiritual inspiration and significance that Mauna Kea offers — not only to Native Hawaiians but to humanity at large. Spiritual nourishment and inspiration is of much greater and lasting value than anything money can buy.

"It is this spiritual blindness often born out of arrogance or greed that is at the root of the desecration of our precious environment throughout the country and around the world."

More than 1,000 people descended on what they consider sacred Hawaiian land last week to form a blockade to stop the construction of a controversial giant telescope on Mauna Kea.

Police moved in to make  33 arrests, reported KHON. Among the first arrested, were kapuna, or elderly, protestors. All 33 where given citations and released the same day.

“This mountain represents more than just their building that they want to build,” longtime activist Walter Ritte said in a video interview livestreamed by Hawaii News Now, via Twitter on Monday, reported Colorlines. “This mountain represents the last thing they want to take that we will not give them.” Ritte was one of eight people who chained themselves to a grate in the access road at the mountain’s base to block construction.

According to the BBC, the 30 meter telescope (TMT) would be the largest in the world. Mauna Kea is held by the state in trust, supposedly for the benefit of Native Hawaiians.

Protests, led by Native Hawaiians, have dogged the project since it was announced in 2009. Last Oct.  the Supreme Court of Hawaii upheld the building permit granted by the State Board of Land and Natural Resources. Construction was scheduled to begin on July  15 this year.

Gizmodo reports that the protestors have won the support of some 200 astronomers who published an open letter .

“We call upon the astronomy community to recognize the broader historical context of this conflict and to denounce the criminalization of the protectors on Maunakea,” read the letter.

“We came to protect our sacred land,” Hawaii News Now reported that a protester at Mauna Kea said last week during the arrests. “There’s not much more we have left.” There are already thirteen working telescopes at and around the top of Mauna Kea. If TMT is not built on Mauna Kea, there is a backup site in the Canary Islands."

ASAM NEWS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT

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