Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege

Although the mountain volcano Mauna Kea last erupted around 4,000 years ago, it is still hot today, the center of a burning controversy over whether its summit should be used for astronomical observatories or preserved as a cultural landscape sacred to the Hawaiian people. For five years the documentary production team Nā Maka o ka 'Āina ("the eyes of the land") captured on video the seasonal moods of Mauna Kea's unique 14,000-foot summit, the richly varied ecosystems that extend from sea level to alpine zone, the legends and stories that reveal the mountain's geologic and cultural history, and the political turbulence surrounding the efforts to protect the most significant temple in the islands: the mountain itself.

Cast

Puhipau Narrator (voice) Manu Aluli Meyer Herself - Philosopher of Education

Keawe Vredenburg Himself

Sam 'Ohukani'ōhi'a Gon Himself - Conservation Biologist

Kealoha Pisciotta Herself - Mauna Kea Anaina Hou

Nelson Ho Himself - Sierra Club

Paul Neves Himself - Royal Order of Kamehameha

Hanalei Fergerstrom Himself

Reynolds Kamakawiwo'ole Himself

Kahu o Terangi Himself

Pualani Kanahele Herself - Kumu Hula

Steve Hess Himself - USGS Biological Resources

Metadata from the source database.