D/C Blocks Social and Environmental Sciences - You're with Young first block today where we'll try to answer why mountains are sacred and find out why Mauna Kea is an example of a clash of worldviews. This does connect with Benton's discussion about ecological succession and mountain environments.
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| Mauna Kea is part of a complex and uniquely Hawaiian eco-cultural system involving freshwater, land, plants, animals, ocean, and people. |
With Young we'll ask "Why are Mountains Sacred?" and our focus this week will be on Mauna Kea. The mountain, called Mauna O Wakea by Native Hawaiians, is the tallest in the islands, and its summit, considered to be a wao akua, or “realm of the gods.” is considered most sacred in traditional Hawaiian culture. Mauna Kea is sacred because it is the piko, or umbilical cord that connects the Creator to the people of Hawai’i, it is the place where the sky god, Wakea, met with Papahānaumoku, the earth goddess, leading to the creation of the islands. Only the highest-ranking chiefs were historically believed to be fit to go there. There are other cultural sites on the mountain, including a sacred lake, significant burial sites and a historic quarry where stone tools were made. So why are we going to talk about Mauna Kea?
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| Young on Christmas Eve (2022) at the top of Mauna Kea |
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| Mauna Loa from Mauna Kea |
In April 2013, the Thirty Meter Telescope project was approved, which would be the largest telescope ever built and its location would be on top of Mauna Kea. Its construction on a “sacred landscape”, replete with endangered species, ecological concerns, and ongoing cultural practices, continues to be a hot topic of debate and protest. Indigenous activists continue to oppose its construction and are fighting for the protection of their most sacred mountain. From Smithsonian magazine
What is really at stake, however, is a conflict between two ways of knowing and being in the world. For many Native Hawaiians and other Indigenous peoples, sacredness is not merely a concept or label. It is a lived experience of oneness and connectedness with the natural and spiritual worlds. It is as common sense as believing in gravity. This experience is very much at odds with the everyday secular-humanist approach of Western thinking that emerged out of the Enlightenment, which sees no “magic” or “enchantment” in the world. And of course, seeing nature as inert facilitates both commercial exploitation and scientific exploration
After we get a sense of where the Hawaiian Islands are and the people who first inhabited them. Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) are the aboriginal people (and their descendants) of the Hawaiian islands. Their ancestors were the original Polynesians who sailed to Hawai’i and settled the islands around the 5th century AD. For Kanaka Maoli , according to tradition, the roots and fruits that provide for the next generations come from “Wao Akua”, the realm of the gods, the upper forested regions of the island watersheds...from places like Mauna O Wakea.
So, like I mentioned above, Mauna Kea is sacred because it is the piko, or umbilical cord that connects the Creator to the people of Hawai’i. It is the place where the sky god, Wakea, met with Papahānaumoku, the earth goddess, leading to the creation of the islands. What is myth? From PBS
So, several hundred Kanaka Maoli and Hawaiian rights activists have been camped at the foot of Mauna Kea, blocking the only road to the top of the mountain. That has kept construction equipment from reaching the summit to start building a $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope, and it has forced other scientific facilities at the summit to shut down. Protesters say the construction of the other telescopes on Mauna Kea desecrated the mountain, and they do not trust promises that the Thirty Meter Telescope will be the last one built — assurances they say they have heard before. They are concerned about any further alterations to the summit. It's not all about Wao Akua...so what's it about?
Myths are stories that are based on tradition. Some may have factual origins, while others are completely fictional. But myths are more than mere stories and they serve a more profound purpose in ancient and modern cultures. Myths are sacred tales that explain the world and man's experience. Myths are as relevant to us today as they were to the ancients. Myths answer timeless questions and serve as a compass to each generation.
You'll have nine questions you'll need to answer on this topic for me this week and I'll post them tomorrow. These articles will help:
The Heart of the Hawaiian Peoples’ Arguments Against the Telescope on Mauna Kea By Doug Herman
Sacred Mountains Sources of Indigenous Revival and Sustenance by Edwin Bernbaum
A New Way for Stewardship of Mother Earth: Indigeneity by Doug Herman
and then these will help too:
Hundreds Continue to Gather at Mauna Kea by Chris Swartz
Indigenous Religious Traditions Sacred Land Project Mauna Kea
And it's not just Young's obsessive love of Hawai'i through:
Aloha (Akahi- kindness to be expressed with tenderness; Lokahi- unity to be expressed with harmony; Oluolu- agreeable to be expressed with pleasantness; Haahaa- humility to be expressed with modesty; Ahonui- patience to be expressed with perseverance)
Mālama ʻĀina (care for the land)
Mālama i ke Kai (care for the ocean) and the
Kānaka Maoli, the Hawaiian Kingdom, sovereignty and Land Back
But we, here in BC, have a connection to Hawaii The forgotten Hawaiian islands in Canada
Second block we're back to the learning commons/library to continue working through the final interview project/assignment. I posted this on Friday but ask yourself,
What do you need to do?
How do you plan to go about doing it?
When do you plan on getting it done?
Don't forget this is an active research project and we expect you'll need to go out into the community to interview people and work with environmental groups/organizations, so
Who do you need to talk to and when will you talk with them? Consider:
Remember you're looking at groups who are trying to solve an environmental issue. Consider the following questions:
1. Which do you think is the best way to address this issue in your community, community action or public policy
2. What are the advantages of this solution? What are the disadvantages? You will need to be able to address the disadvantages, as well.
3. List some influential individuals or groups who might be willing to support your proposal.
4. How might you be able to win the support of some of these individuals or groups?
B Block Human Geography - To examine the key question "Why Do Ethnicities Engage in Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide"? we focus first on the former Yugoslavia (1991-1999) and ethnic cleansing (take a deeper look at Srebrenica in the Bosnian War). Ethnic cleansing is undertaken to rid an area of an entire ethnicity so that the surviving ethnic group can be the sole inhabitants. The point of ethnic cleansing is not simply to defeat an enemy or to subjugate them but it involves the removal of every member of the less powerful ethnicity - women as well as men, children as well as adults, the frail elderly as well as the strong youth. There's a good timeline and in depth page of the Balkan Wars (including Srebrenica in the Balkan War and also Podujevo in the Kosovo war) on the CBC here. You'll need to work on the following for me:
- Define ethnic cleansing
- How is ethnic cleansing different than normal warfare?
- Regarding the Yugoslav refrain that was common during the rule of Josip Tito, identify Yugoslavia’s: Five Nationalities; Four Languages; Three Religions; and Two Alphabets
- Why did Serbs and Croats in Bosnia (aka Bosnia-Herzegovina) ethnically cleanse themselves of Bosnia Muslims?
- After the 1996 Dayton Accords (end of Yugoslav civil war) What country controlled Kosovo
- What ethnic group lives in Kosovo (and %)?
- With the breakup of Yugoslavia, what began to happen in Kosovo?
- How did the U.S. and U.N. respond?
- Define balkanized
- Define balkanization
And don't forget that the other secondary school in Courtenay is named after Master Corporal Mark Robert Isfeld, a field engineer, who was serving on a peacekeeping mission (United Nations Protection Force Yugoslavia or UNPROFOR) with the 1 Combat Engineer Regiment near Kakma, Croatia. He was involved in mine clearance at the time of his death on June 21, 1994 and was on his third peacekeeping mission in a two and one-half year period.
A Block Legal Studies - We start today in the learning commons where we'll look at Vicarious Liability & Occupier’s Liability
Vicarious liability – a Defendant is held liable for another person’s tort even though they may have done nothing wrong. Companies are liable for their employees’ actions through vicarious liability (as are parents for their children)
Occupiers Liability – An occupier is someone who is in control of property. You have a duty of care to ensure that your property is safe for others. The occupier should be able to foresee any harm and mitigate it. There are three classes of people who occupiers are liable to:
- Invitees are people who are on property for reasons OTHER than social visits. These people are owed the HIGHEST standard of care.
- Licensees are people who are on property on the implied permission of the occupier (social visits where no business is transacted).
- Trespassers are people who enter property without permission or a legal right.
As an occupier, you and/or your organization are required to keep areas such as aisles, stairs, ramps, walkways, driveways and parking lots reasonably safe for persons who are using them. Some common hazardous conditions include:
- ice and snow that has not been cleared
- unexpected elevation changes
- uneven surfaces (e.g., cracks, gaps, potholes)
- slippery surfaces (e.g., wet floors, tile flooring)
- missing or loose handrails on stairs
- debris on walking paths (e.g., boxes in aisles)
- inadequate lighting.
- Whether the danger was foreseeable.
- Whether the occupier’s conduct was in accordance with acceptable standards of practice.
- Whether there was an adequate system of inspection (considering the risks involved) in place and carried out.
- Whether the danger was allowed to exist for an unreasonable amount of time.
- The ease with which the danger could have been prevented.
Family Compensation Act [RSBC 1996] Chapter 126
Host Liability - (for case #5) Commercial Hosts have a specific duty of care to their patrons so that they do not harm themselves from consuming alcohol. How to control patron’s alcohol intake:
There are some important sections involving "liability" for businesses and social guests on pages 406-410 (Occupiers' Liability: general invitees; commercial and social host invitees; licensees; trespassers; and the Occupiers Liability Act). These topics are relevant to all cases except for Case 7. For more on the BC Liquor laws (pertaining to case 5) check out the Serving It Right information here or for information on liquor law basics here.
BC Liquor Control and Licensing Act [RSBC 1996] Chapter 267
43 (1) A person must not sell or give liquor to an intoxicated person or a person apparently under the influence of liquor.
(2) A licensee or the licensee's employee must not permit
(a) a person to become intoxicated, or
(b) an intoxicated person to remain in that part of a licensed establishment where liquor is sold, served or otherwise supplied.
Liability of officer of corporation
77 If an offence under this Act is committed by a corporation, the officer or agent of the corporation in charge of the establishment in which the offence is committed is deemed to be a party to the offence and is personally liable to the penalties prescribed for the offence as a principal offender but nothing in this section relieves the corporation or the person actually committing the offence from liability for it.
Liability of occupant of establishment
78 On proof that an offence under this Act has been committed by
(a) a person employed by the occupant of a house, shop, restaurant, room or other establishment in which the offence is committed, or
(b) a person permitted by the occupant to be or remain in or on that house, shop, restaurant, room or establishment, or to act in any way for the occupant, the occupant is deemed to be a party to the offence and is liable as a principal offender to the penalties prescribed for the offence, even though the offence was committed by a person who is not proved to have committed it under or by the direction of the occupant but nothing in this section relieves the person actually committing the offence from liability for it.
From the Canada Safety Council dealing with Social Host Liability: (For Case #1 AND 2 )
Host Liability - (for case #5) Commercial Hosts have a specific duty of care to their patrons so that they do not harm themselves from consuming alcohol. How to control patron’s alcohol intake:
- Every server needs to take and pass a “Serving it Right” course (experience and training)
- Every server needs to monitor patron’s alcohol intake
- No server can sell alcohol to someone who is intoxicated
- Take away keys, call taxis, call police
There are some important sections involving "liability" for businesses and social guests on pages 406-410 (Occupiers' Liability: general invitees; commercial and social host invitees; licensees; trespassers; and the Occupiers Liability Act). These topics are relevant to all cases except for Case 7. For more on the BC Liquor laws (pertaining to case 5) check out the Serving It Right information here or for information on liquor law basics here.
BC Liquor Control and Licensing Act [RSBC 1996] Chapter 267
(2) A licensee or the licensee's employee must not permit
(a) a person to become intoxicated, or
(b) an intoxicated person to remain in that part of a licensed establishment where liquor is sold, served or otherwise supplied.
Liability of officer of corporation
77 If an offence under this Act is committed by a corporation, the officer or agent of the corporation in charge of the establishment in which the offence is committed is deemed to be a party to the offence and is personally liable to the penalties prescribed for the offence as a principal offender but nothing in this section relieves the corporation or the person actually committing the offence from liability for it.
Liability of occupant of establishment
78 On proof that an offence under this Act has been committed by
(a) a person employed by the occupant of a house, shop, restaurant, room or other establishment in which the offence is committed, or
(b) a person permitted by the occupant to be or remain in or on that house, shop, restaurant, room or establishment, or to act in any way for the occupant, the occupant is deemed to be a party to the offence and is liable as a principal offender to the penalties prescribed for the offence, even though the offence was committed by a person who is not proved to have committed it under or by the direction of the occupant but nothing in this section relieves the person actually committing the offence from liability for it.
From the Canada Safety Council dealing with Social Host Liability: (For Case #1 AND 2 )
It is important for every social host to consider the consequences involved with the service of alcohol because there will continue to be lawsuits. The social host could be found to have a duty of care to guests and all those who are at risk due to the intoxication of the guests for events that could be foreseeable. Further, the host has a duty to monitor and supervise the service and consumption of alcohol during a party or event. The best course is to take risk management measures. The social host should check his or her insurance to determine if there is coverage for any incident that may occur on the property or as a result of actions from the property. When hosting a party, plan appropriately. This includes:
- Either don't drink or limit your own consumption of alcohol in order to track that of your guests.
- Know your guests - it is much easier to track the changes in behaviour of those you know.
- Try to serve all drinks yourself and avoid self-serve bars to track and monitor your guests' consumption. Consider hiring a bartender trained in alcohol service.
- Have plenty of non-alcoholic choices.
- Serve lots of food that has protein and fat - salt encourages more drinking and sugar does not mix well with alcohol.
- Meet, Greet and Repeat - meet and greet all your guests as they arrive in order to determine if they have had anything alcoholic to drink before arriving. If the party is an open house or cocktail format, repeat the process as guests leave.
- If a guest is intoxicated, encourage him or her to give you their car keys if relevant. Buddy up with a friend to assist in persuading the intoxicated person to take a cab.
- Keep the phone numbers of cab companies handy and tell the guest that a cab has been ordered - don't give them the option to refuse.
- If the guest is quite intoxicated, keep that person with you until they have sobered or can be left with a sober responsible person.
- Only time will sober the person, not additional fluids or food. Offering a spare bed is a good recourse.
- If the person refuses to give the car keys or spend the night at your house, call the police. It may seem drastic, but it could be a choice between that of an upset friend or far more tragic consequences.
Today's Fit...
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