The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project, a $1.4 billion astronomical observatory, had a planned construction launch date of July 15. The project was scheduled to be built on Mauna Kea, which is among the most sacred sites in Hawaiian cosmology.

To some Native Hawaiians, the state's tallest mountain, Mauna Kea, represents the realm of the Earth's creator and the birthplace of the Hawaiian people. But pro-business groups interested in boosting Hawaii's tech industry want the summit to house what would be the largest telescope in the Northern Hemisphere.

This project has faced stiff opposition from Native Hawaiians and allies due to its planned construction site, a decision that raises issues of Native Hawaiian sovereignty and who gets to decide what happens on ancestral indigenous lands.

The fight to protect Mauna Kea is 10 years running, with the Hawaii Supreme Court ruling in 2018 that construction for TMT can proceed. But this fight is not over -- since that first scheduled day, July 15, protectors have shown up everyday to save their most sacred land.

Native Hawaiian Kupuna (elders) and other activists have been arrested for peacefully protesting and are currently blocking the mountain's access road and have indefinitely halted the TMT project. They have stopped Native Hawaiians from accessing the Mauna where they go for religious purposes, cultural practices as well as gathering. Protectors say their current struggle is yet another chapter in a long history of genocide and the denial of recognizing Native Hawaiian nationhood and indigenous rights by the federal and state governments.

Show your solidarity with Native Hawaiians dedicated to preserving Mauna Kea. Sign the petition and demand the leaders of Hawaii spare the sacred ground and move the TMT.

Here's what groups like Seeding Sovereignty and Pua Case are up to on the ground: