Mele on the Mauna

In the summer of 2019, a group of kia'i, or protectors, made up of kānaka 'ōiwi (Native Hawaiians) and their allies came together to prevent the construction of the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) on the dormant volcano Maunakea. In Mele on the Mauna , Joseph Keola Donaghy explores how music, and especially haku mele, or Hawaiian language composers, played a crucial role in this defense. Musicians flocked to the mauna (mountain) to perform for the kia'i and a worldwide audience via social media. Ha