Lifestyle Travel Celebrity Vacations Jason Momoa Joins Hawaiian Telescope Protest with His Two Kids: 'We Are Not Going Anywhere' Jason Momoa was there for the people of his native Hawaii in their ongoing protest against a telescope set to be built on a sacred mountain By Ale Russian Ale Russian Ale Russian is a contributing writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023. Her work has appeared in Women's World, First For Women, Biography.com and the Chicago Sun-Times. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 1, 2019 03:04PM EDT Comments Jason Momoa flew to his native state of Hawaii to join ongoing protests against the building of a telescope on a sacred mountain. The Aquaman actor went back to his roots and brought his young kids along to join the 17th day of protest against plans to build on the sacred Mauna Kea mountain on Wednesday. The group has been blocking the access road to the country’s tallest mountain in hopes of stopping construction. Momoa, who turned 40 the day after joining the protest, was accompanied by family and his two kids with wife Lisa Bonet: son Nakoa-Wolf, 10, and daughter Lola Iolani, 12. “I just want to say that I’m thankful to the protectors and the stewards of this land, and we are not going anywhere,” Momoa told the crowd, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Jason Momoa protests telescope construction. Hollyn Johnson/Hawaii Tribune-Herald via AP The actor also documented his experience on Instagram, where he uploaded a video to his Story while heading out of the island after the protest. “Aloha everyone, I’m home. My family and my babies are here,” Momoa says at the beginning of the video. “I love you, I loved being there, I loved supporting everyone, I loved interviewing everyone. We’re gonna get our voices out there, it’s my duty. I love you and I’ll see you soon. I’ll be back.” Momoa isn’t the only celebrity to join the protests. Just last week, Dwayne Johnson made a surprise appearance to help protect the island he called home for a few years in his childhood. Johnson, who arrived at the tenth day of protests, told the crowd he was honored to be with them and said, “I stand with you,” according to the Associated Press. “This is such a critical moment and a pivotal time. Because the world is watching,” he added. “I realized as I was leaving it is much more than a telescope, it is people who have so much pride and are willing to sacrifice everything they have to protect something that is so incredibly sacred to them,” Johnson told reporters onsite. Dwayne Johnson Joins Protests Against Construction on Hawaii’s Tallest Mountain Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim told the AP he’s organizing a meeting between the government and Native Hawaiian leaders, adding he hopes the two groups can meet in the middle. “We do not want this to become the cause of a polarized community,” Kim told the newswire. “That to me is a main issue here.”