Private Story
Mauna Kea WP
A community has sprung up around the base of Pu’uhuluhulu, at the intersection of Daniel K. Inouye Highway and the Mauna Kea Access Road. There’s a tent with donated items, a kitchen that serves three hot meals a day to everyone there, a medic tent, an art tent, and even a university. It’s entirely volunteer-run. The university holds classes nearly every day in everything from Hawaiian language and history, to traditional crafts, hula, and many other topics. Besides propane heating lamps, everything is powered almost entirely by solar panels. Protocol, or ceremony, is held four times daily, including chants, prayers, hula, and formal presentations to the elders. The community is tight knit and follows a set of rules which range from the obvious (no weapons, drugs, alcohol, smoking allowed, no exceptions) to guidelines about consent in photography and the simple instruction for everyone to malama (or take care of) each other. The community has inspired a resurgence of traditional Hawaiian culture throughout the diaspora, and it has also inspired other areas in the islands to stand up for their land rights.
I went there for the first time in October, through a fortuitous chain of events, as an outsider with no direct contacts in the camp. I was overwhelmed by the welcome I received, and I joined in with all aspects of the community, photographing along the way. I’ve spent 3 of the last 6 weeks there and intend to return as soon as possible. These photographs represent the early stages of an ongoing body of work, detailing daily life in the encampment, including seasonal ceremonies.
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