 A delegation of Native Hawaiian and Native American activists gathered on campus to protest the University of California's involvement in the construction of the 30-meter telescope International Observatory atop Mauna Kea on the big island of Hawaii. Their demonstrations at Berkeley kick off their visit to partners in the project across California. The group of Native Hawaiian protesters will be making their way through the UC system with a unified message to divest from destruction. In spite of the telescope's governing board's promise to be good stewards of the land and the Hawaii Supreme Court ruling allowing the construction, the ongoing battle for Native Hawaiians continues. Mauna Kea is a sacred mountain that has touched so many of our hearts. A letter delivered to UC Berkeley officials and signed by dozens of UC students read in part, we as members of the UC community refuse to be made complicit. One of the organizers, LaLani Teal, says the university must prioritize their demands. You want to have the university and science needs to align with that which is right. And that means protection of Native peoples, of cultures, of the land. The movement at Berkeley follows decades of Native Hawaiians protesting and conducting sleep-ins on the summit of Mauna Kea against the estimated $1.4 billion project. Proponents of the construction see it as a scientific endeavor. And for many in the Native and Indigenous community, it is far from that. Their Mauna, which is a mountain, their environment is very sacred to them. It's their way of life. Members will soon make their way through Palo Alto and UC Santa Cruz, where other funders are based. The university has not released a statement on the matter. Thomas Maglonia for CalTV News.