The Thirty Meter Telescope’s Cultural Initiatives

In 2009 the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) consortium selected Maunakea on Hawai'i Island as their site. After more than 20 public meetings and consulting with Native Hawai'ian groups TMT understood the need to make significant efforts to address the interests of both the indigenous and local people of Hawai'i. It was widely agreed upon that people of Hawai'i wanted to ensure the cultural sanctity of Maunakea would be upheld. I will review the initiatives TMT has undertaken to address this and how they will support cultural practices on Maunakea. TMT has already demonstrated their commitment to the indigenous people by providing funding to the Office of Hawai'ian Affairs — a government organization that represents the Native Hawai'ian people. It is clear that TMT works hard to be bring people together, peacefully merging culture with science.