โTo the locals, when we see that, weโre like what are you doing? Why are you skiing down a place thatโs sacred to us, a place that has mana, a place that just has power.”
Redbull Snow postedย a video of skiers and snowboarders racing down Puสปu Poliสปahu, a volcanic cone that is not only the highest point on Mauna Kea and considered sacred to Native Hawaiians. Red Bull pulled down the controversial video after backlash.ย Hawaii News Now spoke with locals and they were none to happy about the video:
โThereโs no snow there so there really is no reason for them to be skiing like that and theyโre destroying the dirt and who knows, there could be burial grounds there. And theyโre not from here. So I just donโt think they have any idea of what theyโre doing,” Kalihi Resident Lisa May
Some consider skiing and snowboarding down the snowless mountain an act of desecration:
โGrowing up in Hawaii, I consider Mauna Kea a sacred place. And itโs a place that has history and a place that was sacred to our ancestors.โ –ย Kalihi resident Keโolina Naulangi
Director of UH-Hiloโs Office of Maunakea Managementย Stephanie Nagata saidย โFirst and foremost, this act was disrespectful to Native Hawaiians and to everyone who considers the mountain sacred.โ Nagata also noted the skiers and snowboarders never applied for a required film permit and if they had, permission would have never been granted. The video has been removed from Red Bull’s platforms but this is a copy posted byย Hawaii Tribune-Herald.
