Thread by @tuckeve

People have been asking me what I think about the University of Toronto’s statement on the TMT Project, so I will share some thoughts in this thread.
#MaunaKea 1/

I was glad to be interviewed for this article, and to appear in the article alongside others trying to convince our universities to show leadership and divest from the TMT Project cbc.ca/news/indigenou… 2/

Many people at UofT are trying to bring about change in terms of the relationships between the university and Indigenous communities. People realize that research has been done in exploitative and nonconsensual ways, and that research practice needs to be transformed. 3/

University of Toronto is part of ACURA, which holds a 15% share in the TMT Project, and this is a big contradiction to the conversations we have been having on campus since the release of the TRC report and Calls to Action. 4/

It is very important for funding partners like the Betty and Gordon Moore Foundation to divest, and important for Canadian universities to help facilitate the National Research Council of Canada’s divestment in the TMT project.  5/

I read the University of Toronto statement about the TMT Project with mixed emotions. 6/

I welcome any time a university makes clear that they oppose the use of police force to achieve research objectives. This is rare, although it should be a baseline for ethical research practice. 7/

I was disappointed that the statement reiterated the empty, unproven phrasing that TMT collaborators are moving forward with commitments to stewardship and inclusivity when all of the evidence is to the contrary. 8/

More than 3000 people are on Mauna Kea to object to this construction, and they are being monitored and arrested by police armed with guns, batons, tear gas, and Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs). 9/

The statement says that the author is consulting with colleagues at the University of Toronto. I would like for my U of T colleagues to take seriously the perspective of Dr. Uahikea Maile, @uahikea, who is ALSO our colleague. 10/

Dr. @uahikea is a new UofT Assistant Professor of Political Science, who has been at the mauna since July 15. I would rather our colleagues listen Dr. Maile instead of simply repeating the lawyer-approved superficial language of ACURA and other TMT collaborators. 11/

Directly or indirectly, Canadian universities are involved in using militarized force to construct this massive 18-story telescope. 12/

Universities cannot claim to be reconciling with Indigenous communities when they are using armed police to intimidate, arrest, and threaten Indigenous peoples in the name of research. 13/