Although the mountain volcano Mauna Kea last erupted around 4000 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 Nā Maka o ka ʻĀina captured on video the seasonal moods of Mauna Kea's unique 14,000-foot summit environment, 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 efforts to protect the most significant temple in the islands, the mountain itself.
 


"Mauna Kea - Temple Under Siege" paints a portrait of a mountain that has become a symbol of the Hawaiian struggle for physical, cultural and political survival. The program explores conflicting forces as they play themselves out in a contemporary island society where cultures collide daily.
 


Partially funded by Pacific Islanders in Communications, Native American Public Telecommunications, and Deviants from the Norm.
 


Music by Brother Noland
 


Featuring

Aka Mahi, Pualani Kanahele, Kealoha Pisciotta, Paul Neves, Manu Meyer, Keawe Vredenburg, Sam Gon III, Julie Leialoha, Kahu o Terangi, Kapono Souza, Clarence Kukauakahi Ching, Debbie Ward and Nelson Ho.
 


Produced and directed by Joan Lander and Puhipau of Nā Maka o ka ʻĀina.

2006