Interviewed by Keala Kelly for Mauna Kea Minute

July 7, 2015: The brilliant Native Hawaiian filmmaker and journalist, Keala Kelly, interviewed me about my experiences on Mauna Kea for her Mauna Kea Minute series:   Mauna Kea Minute with Will Falk from anne keala kelly on Vimeo.
Protecting Mauna Kea: This is a War

Protecting Mauna Kea: This is a War

Sitting outside the 10 by 20 foot makeshift tent that has served as my home for the last 34 days on Mauna Kea, I watch the tent poles shudder to the concussion of US Army howitzer cannons firing live shells at their training grounds below. When the wind blows just...
Protecting Mauna Kea: Vocabulary for Haoles

Protecting Mauna Kea: Vocabulary for Haoles

I write these words from the floor of a warm corner of the men’s restroom at the Mauna Kea visitor center. The temperature outside is too cold for my laptop battery to take a charge and the restroom houses the only active plug, so I huddle in this corner to combat the...
Protecting Mauna Kea: Pule Plus Action

Protecting Mauna Kea: Pule Plus Action

I went up to Mauna Kea’s summit a few days ago to pule (to pray) with some of the protectors on a ridge inside the Thirty Meter Telescope’s (TMT) proposed construction site. When we reached the site, we were confronted by half a dozen large men in orange vests and...
Protecting Mauna Kea: Notes From the Summit

Protecting Mauna Kea: Notes From the Summit

I went to the Thirty Meter Telescope construction site near the summit of Mauna Kea for the first time, today. Four-wheel drive is recommended for the road that twists steeply with hairpin turns up the Mountain, so ten of us piled into a Kanaka uncle’s (older native...
Protecting Mauna Kea: Talking Story

Protecting Mauna Kea: Talking Story

Looking up at the still, lingering morning stars from the best stargazing location in the world early on the third day since my arrival at the occupation on Mauna Kea, my personal velocities catch up with me and I listen. I stand at 9,200 feet above sea level. North...
Protecting Mauna Kea: They Hate Hawai’i

Protecting Mauna Kea: They Hate Hawai’i

Trigger warning: This piece contains graphic descriptions of sexual and colonial violence. Hatred is one of the most misunderstood processes at work in the world today. Cops are killing young people of color while simultaneously maintaining they’re not racists and do...
Protecting Mauna Kea: Stopping Murder-Suicide

Protecting Mauna Kea: Stopping Murder-Suicide

When people have asked me why I am going to Hawai’i to help protect Mauna Kea and my answer involves words like “sacredness” or “spiritual,” I am surprised whenever I see the grimaces. I often get an explanation like this, “I support indigenous people, of...
Protecting Mauna Kea: History For Haoles

Protecting Mauna Kea: History For Haoles

In the first essay of my Protecting Mauna Kea series, I made a mistake. I wrongfully described the ongoing, illegal American occupation of Hawai’i as an “annexation.” Hawaiian friends of mine pointed this out to me and gave me a thorough history lesson. I was referred...