Mauna Kea Protests: Native Hawaiian Activists Are Fighting for Their Sacred Land

Kapulei Flores recently turned 20, marking the occasion with apple pie and Tahitian vanilla ice cream. The Native Hawaiian photographer and activist has spent the last decade documenting and advocating for the Protect Mauna Kea movement, which is centered around stopping the planned development of a $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on the mountain’s summit, a sacred space in Hawaiian tradition understood to be the piko, or center, of the place where sky and Earth meet.

In a recent Zoom call, Kapulei spoke to Teen Vogue about what it’s...