HULA WORKSHOP & FILM SCREENING [4/24, 5/5, 5/6] Protecting Mauna Kea: Defending the Sacred Against Scientific Colonialism
Dzana Ashworth
From: UCSC Center for Racial Justice <c...@ucsc.edu>
Date: Fri, Apr 24, 2026 at 8:01 AM
Subject: [4/24, 5/5, 5/6 special series] Protecting Mauna Kea: Defending the Sacred Against Scientific Colonialism
To: CRJ-Community <crj-commu...@ucsc.edu>, CRES Community <cres-commu...@ucsc.edu>, AAPI Faculty Group <aapi-facu...@ucsc.edu>, <alluga...@ucsc.edu>
Protecting Mauna Kea: Defending the Sacred Against Scientific Colonialism
Registration: https://forms.gle/WQQaLy5UxwEApXsM7 (registration is recommended but not required—onsite registration available)
We warmly invite you to join us on April 24, May 5, and May 6 for a series of powerful and moving events on the long struggle of Native Hawaiian people and other kia‘i (“protectors”) in protecting Mauna Kea. One of the most sacred Native Hawaiian sites, Mauna Kea is the piko (umbilical cord) connecting the islands to the heavens, the dwelling place of deities, and a place of worship. This sacred landscape faces ongoing expropriation for the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)—a project in which UC Santa Cruz is profoundly implicated.
Friday, April 24, 5-8 pm, Stevenson Wagstaff Fireside Lounge: “Mauna Kea Protectors 101”
An introductory educational discussion on Mauna Kea and the Thirty Meter Telescope facilitated by UCSC’s Mauna Kea Protectors in allyship with Indigenous Land Protectors. Learn about how UC Santa Cruz’s Astronomy Department is implicated in scientific colonialism in their desecration of sacred Native Hawaiian land. Pizza will be served.
Tuesday, May 5, 3:30-6:30 pm, THEA Dance A104: “Hula and Traditional Ecological Knowledges”
A public workshop facilitated by visiting Mauna Kea protectors, Hāwane Rios and Hopoelehua Pa’a Makakau, as well as Kumu Mehana Thomas and Kūhai Hālau O Mehanakealohakalaua'eikapoli Pā 'Ōlapa Kahiko from Santa Cruz
Wednesday, May 6, 4-8 pm at College 9/JRL Multipurpose Rm.: Standing Above the Clouds
A public screening of a documentary film that focuses on mothers and daughters from three Native Hawaiian families that have dedicated their lives to protecting Mauna Kea from destruction. A Q & A with visiting Mauna Kea Protectors will be facilitated by Kanaka Maoli/Native Hawaiian professors, Drs. Iokepa Casumbal-Salazar and Nicole Furtado. Food will be served, including vegan options.
The series features visiting Mauna Kea protectors from Hilo, Hawai‘i: Hāwane Rios, an award-winning singer, songwriter and a celebrated haku mele (song and chant composer); Hopoelehua Pa’a Makakau, a Kanaka ‘Ōiwi cultural bearer, aloha ‘āina (land protector), hula practitioner, and skilled multi-disciplinary hana no’eau (cultural) artist. It also will feature Amber Espinosa-Jones, the award-winning producer of the feature film Standing Above the Clouds and respected teachers and members of the Santa Cruz hula community, Kumu Mehana Thomas and Kūhai Hālau O Mehanakealohakalaua'eikapoli Pā 'Ōlapa Kahiko.
All events are free and open to the public. Please share this announcement and the attached flyers widely.
Enormous thanks to our cosponsors:
Asian American and Pacific Islander Resource Center
Center for Reimagining Leadership
Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
Film and Digital Media/Social Documentation
Mauna Kea Protectors at UC Santa Cruz
Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Rachel Carson College
Student Union Assembly Office of Diversity and Inclusion
For more info please contact the Center for Racial Justice at c...@ucsc.edu.
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