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Niihau (Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Niihau ( ), is the seventh largest island in Hawaii and the westernmost of the main islands. It is southwest of Kauai across the Kaulakahi Channel. Its area is . Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland habitats for the Hawaiian coot, the Hawaiian stilt, and the Hawaiian duck. The island is designated as critical habitat for Brighamia insignis, an endemic and endangered species of Hawaiian lobelioid. The United States Census Bureau defines Niihau and the neighboring island and State Seabird Sanctuary of Lehua as census tract 410 of Kauai County, Hawaii. Its 2010 census population was 170, most of them native Hawaiians. At the 2020 census, the population was reported to have fallen to 84.
Elizabeth Sinclair purchased Niihau in 1864 for from the Hawaiian Kingdom. The island's private ownership passed on to her descendants, the Robinsons. During World War II, the island was the site of the Niihau incident, in which, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, a Japanese navy Fighter aircraft pilot crashed on the island and received help from the island's residents of Japanese descent.
The island, known as "the Forbidden Isle", is off-limits to all outsiders except the Robinson family and their relatives, U.S. Navy personnel, government officials, and invited guests. From 1987 onward, a limited number of supervised activity tours and hunting safaris have opened to tourists. The island is currently managed by brothers Bruce and Keith Robinson. The people of Niihau are noted for their gemlike lei pūpū (shell lei) craftsmanship. They speak Hawaiian as a primary language. The island has attracted some controversy for the strict rules the Robinson family imposes on the island and its inhabitants.
Several bird species thrive on Niihau. The largest lakes on the island are Hālalii Lake, Halulu Lake and Nonopapa Lake. These intermittent playa lakes on the island provide wetland habitats for the Hawaiian coot (Hawaiian coot), the Hawaiian stilt (Hawaiian subspecies of Black-necked Stilt), and the Hawaiian duck (Hawaiian duck). The critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal ( Monachus schauinslandi) is found in high numbers on Niihau's shores. Robinson states that Niihau's secluded shoreline offers them a safe haven from habitat encroachments. According to Robinson, conditions there are better than the government refuges of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. When the Robinsons originally purchased Niihau, no monk seals were present, because they lived in the northwestern part of the Hawaiian island chain, Necker and Midway Island islands. They have been relocated to the main Hawaiian island chain by NOAA fisheries over the past thirty years, and some have found homes on Niihau.
Big game herds, imported from stock on Molokai Ranch in recent years, roam Niihau's forests and flatlands. Taurotragus and aoudad are abundant, along with , wild and feral sheep. These big game herds provide income from Big-game hunter safari tourism.
Kamehameha managed to unify all of the islands by 1795, except for Kauai and Niihau. Two attempts to conquer those islands had failed, and Kamehameha lost many men: bodies covered the beaches on Kauai's eastern shores. (1981). 9780914916437, Topgallant Publishing. ISBN 9780914916437 Finally, in 1810, Kamehameha amassed a great fleet, and Kaumualii, the last independent alii, surrendered rather than risk further bloodshed. Independence again became feasible after Kamehameha's death in 1819, but was put down when Kamehameha's widow Kaahumanu kidnapped Kaumualii and forced him to marry her. Thereafter Niihau remained part of the unified Hawaiian Kingdom.
Elizabeth McHutchison Sinclair (1800–1892) purchased Niihau and parts of Kauai from Kamehameha V in 1864 for in gold. Sinclair chose Niihau over other options, including Waikiki and Pearl Harbor. By around 1875, Niihau's population consisted of about 350 Native Hawaiians, with 20,000 sheep. (2025). 9781426449901, BiblioBazaar. ISBN 9781426449901 This era marked the end of the art of Hawaiian mat-weaving made famous by the people of Niihau. Makaloa ( Cyperus laevigatus), a native Cyperaceae, used to grow on the edges of Niihau's three intermittent lakes. (1988). 9780824811624, University of Hawaii. ISBN 9780824811624 The stems were harvested and used to weave moena makaloa (mats), considered the "finest sleeping mats in Polynesia". The mats were valued by alii and foreign visitors alike, but by the end of the 19th century, Hawaiians had stopped weaving makaloa due to changes in population, culture, economics, and the environment.
In 1915, Sinclair's grandson Aubrey Robinson closed the island to most visitors. Even relatives of the inhabitants could visit only by special permission. Upon Aubrey's death in 1939 the island passed to his son Aylmer, and in 1968 to Aylmer's youngest brother Lester. Upon Lester's wife Helen's death, the island passed to his sons Bruce Robinson and Keith Robinson, the current co-owners. (See Sinclair-Robinson family tree)
The Robinson family has attracted controversy over the strict rules they have imposed on the island’s inhabitants, largely enforced by Bruce Robinson’s wife, Leiana Robinson. The rules include a ban on alcohol and cigarettes, being prohibited from talking about Ni’ihau to the media, a permanent ban from the island if a resident leaves for an extended amount of time, and a ban on long hair and beards for men. The island lacks electricity and running water.
Despite its self-imposed isolation, Niihau has a long-standing relationship with the U.S. military dating from 1924. There is a small Navy installation on the island. No military personnel are permanently stationed there, but the U.S. military has used the island for training special operations units, which included hiring Hawaiians who live on Niihau as "enemy" trackers.Sommer, Anthony. "Niihau: Opening Up." Honolulu Star-Bulletin. May 14, 1999.
In 2004, President George W. Bush received all but one of the 40 votes cast on the island. The remaining vote was cast for Green Party nominee David Cobb. Fifty-one registered voters did not cast ballots. Hawaii 2004 election results for precinct 16-09. Hawaii.gov. Retrieved April 21, 2006. In 2006, Dan Akaka received 60% of votes in the 2006 Senate election to Cynthia Thielen's 36%. In 2008, Niihau's precinct was one of only three of Hawaii's 538 precincts to support John McCain over Barack Obama.
Residents generally speak the Niihau dialect of Hawaiian as their first language, in part encouraged by terms in the original purchase contract which obligated the new owners to help preserve Hawaiian culture and tradition. The Niihau dialect differs from modern standard Hawaiian in that, for example, and are the most common allophone of the phonemes and , respectively. Niihau is the only island where Hawaiian is spoken as a primary language. Oral tradition maintains that the Niihau dialect is closer to the Hawaiian register spoken during the time of contact with Europeans; there is linguistic evidence to support this claim, such as the pronunciation of k as . English is the second language.
Some residents have radio and television sets, although limited reception effectively limits the latter to watching pre-recorded media. Niihau is subject to regular droughts that occasionally force the population to evacuate to Kauai temporarily, until rainfall replenishes their water supply. Residents commonly also commute to Kauai for work, medical care, or school, and many of them call both islands home. To avoid a long boat ride, the island's owners maintain an Agusta A109 helicopter for emergencies and for transporting Navy contractors and residents to and from Kauai. Helicopter tours and safaris help offset the costs of this service.
A form of ipu art is known to have developed solely on the island of Niihau. In this method, after a design is carved in the skin of a fresh gourd, it is filled with dye which, after several weeks, changes the color of the uncarved portions of the surface where the skin is intact. Hawaiian music plays a central role on the island, with a cappella singers making use of only two or three tones and changing rhythms. Ukulele and guitar playing is nearly ubiquitous among the islanders, and there are three separate styles of Slack-key guitar music, with an older style originating from Kohala.
The sale of shells and shell jewelry is an additional source of income. Its beaches are known for their pūpū, tiny shells that wash onto shore during winter months. Species used for shell leis includes momi ( Euplica varians), laiki or rice shells ( Mitrella margarita) and kahelelani ( Leptothyra verruca).Linda Paik Moriarty (1986). 082480998X, University of Hawaii Press. 082480998X The shells and jewelry are so popular that Governor Linda Lingle signed a bill in 2004 to protect lei pūpū o Niihau (Niihau shell leis) from counterfeiting.
H.B. No. 2569. See also: A single, intricate Niihau shell lei can sell for thousands of dollars.
residents of Niihau were once employees of Niihau Ranch, farming cattle and sheep until the Robinsons shut down the operation in 1999. It had not been profitable for most of the 20th century. Honey cultivation was also no longer viable by 1999. Kiawe charcoal was once a large-scale export, but aggressive Mexico price competition ended that as well. Flathead mullet farming has been popular on Niihau, with ponds and lakes stocked with baby mullet, which reach apiece before being harvested and sold on Kauai and Oahu.
Bruce Robinson, Niihau's co-owner, is seeking and considering new forms of non-invasive income generation. Depending on feasibility, impact, and ecological footprint on the ecosystem and culture, possibilities include JP-8 (jet fuel) generation by the lignocellulose process; military, including a possible runway; and windmill energy production. Robinson has declined offers to purchase sand from Niihau's beaches, because of adverse environmental effects.
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