With no fear but with some healthy trepidation, I drove up this prehistoric volcanic mountainside with no idea of what to expect when I reached the top of this eerie, Mars like terrain.
This is Mauna Kea, the most sacred of spiritual sites, the home of Pele, the Hawaiian goddess who in indigenous culture is the creator of all the Hawaiian islands.
This area is also now the focus of major political and cultural division.
I should have seen a beautiful, peaceful prayer site atop the mountain with people gathering with their offerings of respect and reverence. Instead, with clouds rolling in, it was like being in a James Bond film as I experienced an ominous feeling of being watched from the large, eerie, mist surrounded dome-like observatories that house massive telescopes and super-sonic technology, the reason this area has been desecrated and history and culture irrevocably destroyed.
Government is ready to make the final cruel blow by destroying the last remaining place of prayer at the peak, replacing it with what will be the largest telescope ever constructed.
The battle continues.
I give such heartfelt, deep gratitude to the indigenous people standing strong at the base of the mountain who gave me permission to cross the gate that prohibits entry. And my deepest hope for the Hawaiian people is they will be able to continue to express their gratitude to Pele on Mauna Kea, to keep their prayers flowing for many generations to come, as they have for many generations in the past.
