Letter: Maunakea used to be shared by everyone

I remember when the people of Hawaii island freely shared the summit of Maunakea. We had all kinds of cultural practices.

When it snowed, we slid down the slopes, had snowball fights, built snowmen, and filled our pickup truck beds with snow to take to Hilo for our kids to play in. Everybody had fun!

When there wasn’t snow, we hiked in the solitude of the summit, gazed at the beauty of Lake Waiau, or worshipped at shrines we built. The majesty of our mountain was overwhelming.

At night we could register for observatory tours. We learned about the profound knowledge of the universe and marveled at the technology of the telescopes.

Now, all this has ended because a group of professional malcontents are making a power grab, and self- appointed “protectors” are dictating who can be on the mountain and what they can do there.

It’s time to uphold the rule of law, or Hawaii will be one step closer to Third-World anarchy. We all want our mountain back!

Elizabeth Novak

Pahoa, Hawaii island

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