Rumors of the Hawaii National Guard being thrust into the middle of the Thirty Meter Telescope conflict bring back disturbing memories for Noa Emmett Aluli.
The Molokai physician famous for his Kahoolawe activism remembers that Labor Day in 1978 when he and 200 other nonviolent Native Hawaiian demonstrators marched on Hilo Airport and were surprised not only by police, but Guardsmen outfitted in riot gear.
"We thought we were going get gunned down," Aluli recalled.
The question is, Will Native Hawaiian protesters on Mauna Kea soon face a similar force?
Gov. David Ige, who has been searching for a compromise that will allow the project to go forward, indicated for the first time last week that deploying the Hawaii National Guard is indeed an option as the four-month showdown over construction of the $1.4 billion telescope continues to escalate.
Even as Hawaii Guardsmen have recently undergone their annual civil disturbance training, officials report the governor has made no formal request for troops. Nor has he asked for any planning linked to the TMT issue.
But if it does come to it, Ige won’t be the first governor to summon state troops in support of challenging instances of civil disobedience.
Gov. George Ariyoshi activated the Hawaii Army National Guard in 1978 because Hawaiian protesters threatened to close the Hawaii island airport to dramatize the fact that the airport was built on Hawaiian homelands without any compensation.
"We were landlords who had come to collect the rent," recalled Moanikeala Akaka, a Hawaiian activist from Hilo who would go on to become an Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee.
The improper transfer of lands from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has been identified as a problem in the post-statehood era. Not only was homestead land used to build portions of Hilo Airport, but also Molokai Airport and Waimea-Kohala Airport.
The group of Native Hawaiians that gathered in Hilo on Sept. 4, 1978, was also agitated by any number of issues, including alleged mismanagement of the Bishop Estate, the use of Kahoolawe as a military bombing range and the high percentage of Native Hawaiians in the state prison system.
The demonstrators — wearing malo, shorts and Hawaiian skirts — gathered at a nearby hall and eventually moved to the airport, where they broke through a security gate and marched onto the airfield area despite police warnings.
According to news reports, the protest lasted more than four hours.
Before it was all over, the airport was shut down for nearly an hour, and 60 people — including Aluli, Akaka and nine members of the media covering the event — were hauled off to jail. A couple of commercial airline flights were also diverted to other airports.
While there was no social media to go viral and show the world what happened in 1978, the awareness raised that day in Hawaii led to legislation that paved the way for a $600 million state settlement that brought the DHHL $30 million a year for 20 years.
"We shouldn’t have had to risk our lives in order to verify our claims and to get justice for the aina and our people," Akaka said.
Looking back, Aluli said it was a scary situation for many of the demonstrators that day.
"I didn’t feel OK again until I was on the bus and heading to the arraignment," he said.
Both Aluli and Akaka said it would be a mistake if Ige called in the National Guard against the Mauna Kea "protectors," who continue to stand guard at the 9,200-foot level and vow to hold steady despite newly enacted rules that prohibit nighttime access near the summit.
"It could get ugly," Aluli said. "This is not going to go away. And it will have a national and international impact."
Akaka agreed, "The world will see."
There have been a number of occasions when members of the Hawaii Army and Air National Guard were activated over the years.
In 1981 Ariyoshi called on state soldiers to help with a massive shakedown of drugs, weapons and contraband at the Oahu Community Correctional Center.
Prison officials, fearing a potential uprising at the crowded jail, ordered the five-day operation to thoroughly sanitize the facility, according to news reports.
Nearly 100 Guardsmen were called on to perform a range of roles, from preparing meals to operating metal detectors. They were also employed as a backup security force during times when groups of inmates were moved around the jail, according to reports.
In 1996 Gov. Ben Cayetano asked for National Guard support during the eviction of more than 40 campers, most of them Native Hawaiians, at Makua Beach on the Waianae Coast.
"This action is necessary to clean the beach and make improvements for the public at large to enjoy and freely access," Cayetano said in a statement that day in June.
While a handful of protesters chanted, authorities arrested 16 campers, and then a convoy of state cars and trucks moved in to take down and haul away illegal shacks and other beach dwellings.
Lt. Col. Charles Anthony, Hawaii Guard spokesman, said at least 12 Guardsmen took part in the Makua mission, providing logistical support and handling of heavy equipment.
Native Hawaiians condemned the action, calling it yet another injustice against Hawaiians, news reports said.
Elsewhere, National Guard troops have also been deployed to assist authorities during times of emergency, including last year’s Pahoa lava flow, when more than 80 members of the Hawaii National Guard were sent to help police with roadblocks and conduct other security tasks for three months.
Guardsmen were also there in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Iselle. About 180 troops helped with security in neighborhoods to prevent potential looting. They also helped with some debris removal and damage assessment.
And more than 2,000 Guardsmen were mobilized to help with security for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Honolulu in November 2011. Several hundred more were deployed for the Asian Development Bank Conference in March 2001, Anthony said.
