Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege is a 2005documentary film directed by Joan Lander and Puhipau, collectively known asNā Maka o ka ‘Āina a. The film documentsthe debate and opposition surrounding theMauna Kea Observatories. The observatories were built on the dormant volcanoMauna Kea for having specific properties that were favorable for astronomers, but the mountain is also considered sacred land inHawaiian religion.
In 2020,Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry of theLibrary of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[1][2]
Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege features many Hawaiian speakers, such as Kealoha Pisciotta, who is the president ofMauna Kea Anaina Hou, andSam Ohu Gon III, a conservation biologist who explains how plants such as theMauna Kea silversword have adapted to live on the mountain.[3] Many representatives of theRoyal Order of Kamehameha I are featured. The documentary also shows several meetings where astronomers discuss and debate with activists and locals that are opposed to future construction on the mountain.[4] The film received funding fromPacific Islanders in Communications andNative American Public Telecommunications, with music for the film created byBrother Noland. The documentary aired onPBS in 2006.[3]
A review of the film fromCultural Survival wrote that the film "portrays the ongoing tensions between the Western scientific community's notion of progress and indigenous cultures' concept of the sacred."[5] The film was also reviewed byThe Contemporary Pacific.[4]