Makakū Mauna: Photos from the Mountain

One of the major strengths of the kia'i-driven media narrative was that it allowed the larger community to connect with the movement. From daily livestreams of what was happening on the Mauna to intimate candid shots of everyday life in the pu'uhonua to the gut-wrenching images of our elders being taken away in zip ties, these visual representations helped people understand what it was like to be on the Mauna. Makakū is the creative force of imagination, and in the case of the Mauna, our collective makakū was driven by the maka kū, the eyes who stood on the mountain.

A drone's eye view of the first day of the standoff looking towards Maunaloa. In the center is Pu'uhuluhulu, the site of the pu'uhonua, a hill and native tree sanctuary in the saddle between Maunakea and Maunaloa. The Mauna Kea Access Road comes from the lower left of the frame, lined with law enforcement vehicles. The line of tents is where the blockade took place, and the kūpuna set up camp. Screengrab from Like a Mighty Wave.

The line of kūpuna blockading the Mauna Kea Access Road, which kia'i renamed the Ala Hulu Kupuna, which translates into something like "The Path of Our Cherished Elders." On July 17, thirty-eight elders were arrested. Screengrab from video footage by Mikey Inouye.

Kupuna and honored craftsman Keoni Turalde being arrested. Photograph by Antonio Agosto, Visionize Media.

The wahine line has been one of the most powerful and enduring symbols of the struggle on the Mauna and a proud reminder of the role wāhine and queer and māhū folx have played in the movement in both the 2015 stand and again in 2019. Here they are formed up hundreds strong with arms linked to ensure that even after the kūpuna were arrested, the TMT would go no further that day. Photograph by Antonio Agosto, Visionize Media.

Uncle Billy Freitas, a cherished elder and practitioner of uhau humu pōkahu, or traditional stone masonry, lies prostrate on the access road before law enforcement. They later bodily carried him away. Photograph by Mikey Inouye.

Kia'i used art and signs like these to help shape the public narrative of what was happening on the Mauna. Screengrab from video footage by Mikey Inouye.

In the early morning hours, police stand over the kia'i who have chained themselves on top of (and one underneath) the cattle guard. Screengrab from video footage by Mikey Inouye.

Each year, many Hawaiians celebrate Lā Ho'iho'i Ea, a holiday from the Kingdom era of Hawai'i celebrating the return of its sovereignty after a rogue British sea captain Lord George Paulet took over. The flag that the State of Hawai'i claims as its own is actually the flag of the Hawaiian Kingdom and is a very visible symbol of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement. Every year to commemorate Lā Ho'iho'i Ea, Uncle Kū Ching, revered cultural practitioner and longtime protector of Maunakea, flies the Hawaiian flag at the summit of the Mauna with 'ohana, but in 2019 he allowed a member of Nā Leo Kāko'o to document this tradition. As he said that day, because of the Mauna's status as the tallest mountain in the world, "Today, no flag flies higher than the Hae Hawai'i." Photograph by Kaipo Kī'aha.

The Maunakea struggle is a multigenerational one, as kūpuna (elders), mākua (parents), keiki (children), and even mo'opuna (grandchildren) all take part in protecting the mountain. Here movement leader and kumu hula Pua Case hugs her daughter, musician...