“To the locals, when we see that, we’re like what are you doing? Why are you skiing down a place that’s sacred to us, a place that has mana, a place that just has power.”
Redbull Snow posted a video of skiers and snowboarders racing down Puʻu Poliʻahu, 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. Hawaii News Now spoke with locals and they were none to happy about the video:
“There’s no snow there so there really is no reason for them to be skiing like that and they’re destroying the dirt and who knows, there could be burial grounds there. And they’re not from here. So I just don’t think they have any idea of what they’re doing,” Kalihi Resident Lisa May
Some consider skiing and snowboarding down the snowless mountain an act of desecration:
“Growing up in Hawaii, I consider Mauna Kea a sacred place. And it’s a place that has history and a place that was sacred to our ancestors.” – Kalihi resident Ke’olina Naulangi
Director of UH-Hilo’s Office of Maunakea Management Stephanie Nagata said “First and foremost, this act was disrespectful to Native Hawaiians and to everyone who considers the mountain sacred.” 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 by Hawaii Tribune-Herald.