In 2020, I was approached by fellow kiaʻi from the  Mauna Kea movement in 2019  to create a set of images for the ambitious Mauna Kea Syllabus project.  Because Mauna Kea is the wao akua, I wanted to focus and reimagine the  akua associated with the elements of the Mauna as mana wahine who will kick your ass in alley or reduce you to dust. They are more than superheroes, they brought our world into being. They are not prone women waiting to be taken. The akua are amazing and flawed and represent all the ways we existed on the Mauna during those few months in that liberation zone opposing the TMT. Neither the akua nor Kanaka Maoli are static, but instead dynamic and ever expanding, able to do the impossible under the most impossible conditions. 

"The Mauna Kea Syllabus Project is an educational resource that seeks to bring diverse voices of our lāhui together in order to enhance education for Hawaiʻi communities and beyond. Similar to Standing Rock, Black Lives Matter, and Immigration syllabi, we’ve developed thematic categories, guiding questions, readings, and resources, after inviting some of their contributors to workshop and share their experiences. There, you will find a set of carefully curated curriculum units around topics relevant to teaching for Mauna Kea. Additionally, you will find interviews with elders, community leaders, and organizers throughout our syllabus.

The Mauna Kea Syllabus is a living document, which means that over time we will continue to add new content, build our hui, and pull together the ʻike of our lāhui in meaningful and more transformative ways. The contents of each section can change, grow, and shift as we bring together our ʻike, as conversations change and grow, and as our people create art, write truths, and build towards more creative tomorrows."  - MK Syllabus Authors