Ontological and Epistemological Incommensurability: Western Astronomy, Native Hawaiian Cosmologies, and the Mauna Kea Telescope Controversy

The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) debate on Mauna Kea is a manifestation of the ontological and epistemological incommensurability between Western astronomy and Native Hawaiian cosmologies. Western astronomers' misinterpretation of Native Hawaiian astronomical practices, exemplified by the selective invocation of King Kalākaua's support for astronomy, continues to impose colonial assumptions on indigenous knowledge systems. The framing of Mauna Kea as a site for astronomical discovery compromises its ontological status as a sacred ancestor, perpetuating the epistemological violence of settler colonialism. This paper interrogates the ontological politics of the TMT controversy, challenging the universalizing claims of Western scientific knowledge production and their role in erasing Native Hawaiian sovereignty and self-determination. This paper employs a decolonial methodology, drawing upon Kanaka Maoli mo'olelo, oli, and mele as primary materials for understanding the ontological and epistemological foundations of Hawaiian relationships to 'āina and the cosmos. Through a close reading of these indigenous knowledge systems and a comparative analysis of Western and Kanaka Maoli cosmologies, the research exposes the ontological and epistemological incommensurability between these knowledge systems, revealing the limitations of multicultural discourses of inclusion that fail to address the structural violence of settler colonialism. The methodology centers on Kanaka Maoli perspectives, foregrounding the genealogical connections between land, sky, and people that are erased by Western scientific paradigms. The TMT project’s erasure of Native Hawaiian cosmologies and sovereignty in the name of scientific progress demonstrates the fundamental incommensurability between Western and indigenous ways of knowing and being in relation to land and the cosmos. Decolonizing astronomy on Mauna Kea necessitates a radical rethinking of the ontological and epistemological foundations of Western science, centering Native Hawaiian perspectives and challenging the colonial assumptions underpinning the pursuit of astronomical knowledge on sacred land.

Keywords: Decolonization, indigenous sovereignty, TMT controversy, misappropriation

Brief Bio:

Born in New Jersey, Royce Lee is an independent scholar of the arguments over the TMT. He is currently at work on a study of ontological and epistemological clashes between Western astronomy and Native Hawaiian cosmologies, particularly in the context of the Mauna Kea Telescope controversy.