Niihau sep 2007.jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Niihau ( Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Niihau ( ), is the westernmost main and seventh largest inhabited island in Hawaii. It is southwest of
Kauaʻi Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the List of islands of th ...
across the
Kaulakahi Channel In an archipelago like the Hawaiian Islands the water between islands is typically called a ''channel'' or ''passage''. Described here are the channels between the islands of Hawaiʻi, arranged from northwest to southeast. Kaulakahi Channel ...
. Its area is . Several intermittent
playa Playa (plural playas) may refer to: Landforms * Endorheic basin, also known as a sink, alkali flat or sabkha, a desert basin with no outlet which periodically fills with water to form a temporary lake * Dry lake, often called a ''playa'' in the so ...
lakes provide wetland habitats for the Hawaiian coot, the Hawaiian stilt, and the
Hawaiian duck The Hawaiian duck (''Anas wyvilliana'') or koloa is a species of bird in the family Anatidae that is endemic to the large islands of Hawaii. Taxonomically, the koloa is closely allied with the mallard (''A. platyrhynchos''). It differs in that it ...
. The island is designated as critical habitat for '' Brighamia insignis'', an endemic and endangered species of
Hawaiian lobelioid The Hawaiian lobelioids are a group of flowering plants in the bellflower family, Campanulaceae, subfamily Lobelioideae, all of which are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. This is the largest plant radiation in the Hawaiian Islands, and indeed t ...
. The United States Census Bureau defines Niihau and the neighboring island and State Seabird Sanctuary of
Lehua Lehua Island is a small, crescent-shaped island in the Hawaiian islands, north of Niihau, due west of Kauai. The uninhabited, barren island is a tuff cone which is part of the active Niihau volcano. Lehua was one of the first five islands ...
as
Census Tract A census tract, census area, census district or meshblock is a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census. Sometimes these coincide with the limits of cities, towns or other administrative areas and several tracts commonly exist ...
410 of Kauai County, Hawaii. Its 2000 census population was 160, most of whom are native Hawaiians; Its 2010 census population was 170. At the 2020 census, the population had fallen to 84.
Elizabeth Sinclair Elizabeth McHutcheson Sinclair (26 April 180016 October 1892) was a Scottish homemaker, farmer, and plantation owner in New Zealand and Hawaii, best known as the matriarch of the Sinclair family that bought the Hawaiian island of Niihau in 1864 ...
purchased Niihau in 1864 for from the
Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent island ...
. 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 , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...
fighter 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.


Geography

Niihau is located about west of
Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...
, and the tiny, uninhabited island of
Lehua Lehua Island is a small, crescent-shaped island in the Hawaiian islands, north of Niihau, due west of Kauai. The uninhabited, barren island is a tuff cone which is part of the active Niihau volcano. Lehua was one of the first five islands ...
lies north of Niihau. Niihau's dimensions are 6.2 miles by 18.6 miles (10 km × 30 km). The maximum elevation (Paniau) is . The island is about 6 million years old, making it geologically older than the 5.8-million-year-old neighboring island of Kauai to the northeast. Niihau is the remnant of the southwestern slope of what was once a much larger volcano. The entire summit and other slopes collapsed into the ocean in a giant prehistoric landslide.


Climate

The island is relatively arid because it lies in the
rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...
of Kauai and lacks the elevation needed to catch significant amounts of trade wind rainfall. Niihau, therefore, depends on winter Kona storms for its rain, when more northerly weather systems intrude into the region. As such, the island is subject to long periods of drought. Historical droughts on Niihau have been recorded several times, one in 1792 by Captain
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
's former junior officer,
George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...
, who had been told that the people of Niihau had abandoned the island because of a severe drought and had moved to Kauai to escape famine.


Flora and fauna

As an arid island, Niihau was barren of trees for centuries – Captain
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
reported it treeless in 1778. Aubrey Robinson, grandfather of current owners Bruce Robinson and Keith Robinson, planted 10,000 trees per year during much of his ownership of the island; Robinson's
afforestation Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees (forestation) in an area where there was no previous tree cover. Many government and non-governmental organizations directly engage in afforestation programs to create forests a ...
efforts increased rainfall in the dry climate. Island co-owner Keith Robinson, a noted conservationist, preserved and documented many of Niihau's natural plant resources. The island is designated as a critical habitat for the '' ōlulu'', an endemic and endangered species of
Hawaiian lobelioid The Hawaiian lobelioids are a group of flowering plants in the bellflower family, Campanulaceae, subfamily Lobelioideae, all of which are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. This is the largest plant radiation in the Hawaiian Islands, and indeed t ...
. '' Aylmer robinsonii'', a
Pritchardia The genus ''Pritchardia'' (family Arecaceae) consists of between 24 and 40 species of fan palms (subfamily Coryphoideae) found on tropical Pacific Ocean islands in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tuamotus, and most diversely in Hawaii. The generic name ho ...
palm tree named for Keith Robinson's uncle
Aylmer Robinson Aylmer Francis Robinson (1888–1967) was an owner of a large ranch that encompassed the island of Niihau in the Hawaiian Islands. Life Aylmer Francis Robinson was born May 6, 1888, at the Robinson family estate in Makaweli on the island of Kauai ...
, is an endangered species native to Niihau. Several bird species thrive on Niʻihau. The largest lakes on the island are
Hālaliʻi Lake Hālaliʻi Lake is an ephemeral lake in the south central region of the island of Niʻihau. During the rainy seasons, it becomes the largest lake in the Hawaiian Islands. It is located near the smaller Halulu Lake, regarded as the largest (non-in ...
,
Halulu Lake Halulu Lake is a lake in the south central region of the island of Niʻihau (the smallest inhabited island in the chain). It is the largest (non-intermittent) natural lake in the Hawaiian Islands and ranks third in size after Hālaliʻi Lake (al ...
and Nonopapa Lake. These intermittent
playa Playa (plural playas) may refer to: Landforms * Endorheic basin, also known as a sink, alkali flat or sabkha, a desert basin with no outlet which periodically fills with water to form a temporary lake * Dry lake, often called a ''playa'' in the so ...
lakes on the island provide wetland habitats for the '' ʻalae keʻokeʻo'' (Hawaiian coot), the '' āeʻo'' (Hawaiian subspecies of Black-necked Stilt), and the '' koloa maoli'' (Hawaiian duck). The critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal (''Monachus schauinslandi'') is found in high numbers on Niʻihau's shores. Robinson states that Niʻihau'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 The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or Leeward Hawaiian Islands are a series of islands and atolls in the Hawaiian island chain located northwest (in some cases, far to the northwest) of the islands of Kauai and Niihau. Politically, they are all p ...
. When the Robinsons originally purchased Niʻihau, no monk seals were present, because they lived in the northwestern part of the Hawaiian island chain, Necker and Midway islands. They have been relocated to the main Hawaiian island chain by
NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
fisheries over the past thirty years, and some have found homes on Niʻihau. Big game herds, imported from stock on
Molokai Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length an ...
Ranch in recent years, roam Niihau's forests and flatlands.
Eland Eland may refer to: Animals *''Taurotragus'', a genus of antelope ** Common eland of East and Southern Africa ** Giant eland of Central and Western Africa Places * Eland, Wisconsin, United States * An old spelling of Elland, West Yorkshire * Ela ...
and
aoudad The Barbary sheep (''Ammotragus lervia''), also known as aoudad (pronounced ɑʊdæd is a species of caprine native to rocky mountains in North Africa. While this is the only species in genus ''Ammotragus'', six subspecies have been describ ...
are abundant, along with oryxes, wild boars and feral sheep. These big game herds provide income from
hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
safari A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an importa ...
tourism.


History

Prior to the unification of the Kingdom of Hawaii under Kamehameha I, Niihau was ruled by the .
Kahelelani Kahelelani (born in the late 17th century) was the first ''Aliʻi, ali'i'' of the island of Niihau, Niʻihau, Hawaii; he was the son of High Chief Kanehuanui and High Chiefess Kaluahineloa. The small shells used in Ni'ihau ''Lei (garland), lei'' are ...
was the first of the Niihau alii. His name is now used to refer to the ''Niihau kahelelani'', the puka shell of the wart turbans (''Leptothyra verruca''), used to make exquisite Niihau shell jewelry. Kāʻeokūlani was a ruler of northern Niihau who unified the island after defeating his rival, a chief named Kawaihoa. A stone wall () across a quarter of the island's southern end marked the boundaries of the two chiefs: Kāeo's land was identified by black stones and Kawaihoa's by white stones. Eventually, a great battle took place, known as
Pali Kamakaui Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
. Kāeo's two brothers from the island of
Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...
,
Kaʻiana Kaʻiana, also known as Keawe-Kaʻiana-a-Ahuula, (born about 1755 - died 1795) was a Native Hawaiian (kānaka ʻōiwi/maoli) warrior and ''aliʻi'' (noble) of Puna, Hawai‘i, who turned against Kamehameha I in 1795 during his conquest of Oahu an ...
and his half-brother Kahekili II, the King of Maui, fought for Kāeo, and Niihau was united under his rule. Kawaihoa was banished to the south end of the island and Kāeo moved to the middle of the island to govern. Kāeo married the Queen
Kamakahelei Kamakahelei (c. 18th century - 1794), was alii nui, or Queen regnant, of the island of Kauai. She was the ruling chiefess of Kauai reigning from 1770 - 1794. In some historical references she has been described as a regent for her sons Keawe and ...
, and a future king of Niihau and Kauai named Kaumualii was born in 1790.
Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...
and Niihau are said to have carried the "highest blood lines" in the Hawaiian Islands. 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. Finally, in 1810, Kamehameha amassed a great fleet, and Kaumualii, the last independent , surrendered rather than risk further bloodshed. Independence again became feasible after Kamehameha's death in 1819, but was put down when Kamehameha's widow
Kaʻahumanu Kaahumanu (March 17, 1768 – June 5, 1832) (''"the feathered mantle"'') was queen consort and acted as regent of the Kingdom of Hawaii as Kuhina Nui. She was the favorite wife of King Kamehameha I and also the most politically powerful, ...
kidnapped Kaumualii and forced him to marry her. Thereafter Niihau remained part of the unified
Hawaiian Kingdom The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the ...
. Elizabeth McHutchison Sinclair (1800–1892) purchased Niihau and parts of Kauai from
Kamehameha IV Kamehameha IV (Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku; anglicized as Alexander Liholiho) (February 9, 1834 – November 30, 1863), reigned as the fourth monarch of Hawaii under the title ''Ke Aliʻi ...
in 1864 for in gold. Sinclair chose Niihau over other options, including Waikīkī and Pearl Harbor. By around 1875, Niihau's population consisted of about 350 Native Hawaiians, with 20,000 sheep. This era marked the end of the art of Hawaiian mat-weaving made famous by the people of Niihau. ('' Cyperus laevigatus''), a native sedge, used to grow on the edges of Niihau's three
intermittent lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
s. The stems were harvested and used to weave (mats), considered the "finest sleeping mats in Polynesia". The mats were valued by and foreign visitors alike, but by the end of the 19th century, Hawaiians had stopped weaving 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) Niihau played a small role during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In what has come to be called the Niihau Incident (or the Battle of Niihau), a Japanese pilot whose Zero had been hit crash-landed on the island hoping to rendezvous with a rescue submarine. The pilot was apprehended and later escaped with the assistance of local Japanese residents, but he was killed shortly afterwards. Despite its self-imposed isolation, Niihau has a long-standing relationship with the
U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
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 The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honolulu Advertiser''). ...
''. May 14, 1999.


Society


Politics

The island of Niihau was considered as a possible location for the United Nations headquarters in 1944 by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had visited Hawaii in 1934. Under
Cordell Hull Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ...
, Roosevelt's Secretary of State, the
State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
seriously studied the proposal. In 2004 President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
received all but one of the 40 votes cast on the island. The remaining vote was cast for
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
nominee David Cobb. Fifty-one registered voters did not cast ballots. In 2006 Dan Akaka received 60% of votes in the 2006 Senate election to
Cynthia Thielen Cynthia Henry Thielen (born September 22, 1933) is an American politician who served as a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives representing District 50, the Kailua and Kaneohe Bay areas of Oahu County. A Republican, she served in the st ...
's 36%. In 2008, Niihau's precinct was one of only 3 of Hawaii's 538 precincts to vote for
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
over Barack Obama. McCain received 35 votes, Obama received 4, and
Cynthia McKinney Cynthia Ann McKinney (born March 17, 1955) is an American politician, academic, and conspiracy theorist. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms in the United States House of Representatives. She was the first African American ...
received 1. In the
2016 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kirib ...
, 34 votes were cast for president, of which 20 were for Donald Trump and 10 for Hillary Clinton. In 2020, Donald Trump won 43 out of the 43 ballots cast in Niihau against Joe Biden.


Population

The 2010 census states that there were 170 people living on the island. However, witness accounts estimate that the population actually ranges between 35 and 50 people. Some support themselves largely by subsistence fishing and farming, while others depend on welfare.Langlas, Charles and Kehaulani Shintani
"''Mälama ka ‘Äina: To Care For The Land''"
eview ''CRM: The Journal of Heritage Stewardship.'' Vol. 3 No. 1 (Winter 2006).
All residents live rent-free, and meat is free. Niihau has no telephone services and no paved roads. Horses are the main form of transportation; bicycles are also used. There are no power lines; solar power provides all electricity. There is no plumbing or running water on the island. Water comes from
rainwater catchment Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), aquifer, or a reservoir w ...
. The Robinson family established most of these conditions. There is no hotel, and barges deliver groceries from Kauai, often purchased by relatives, with free shipping. Residents generally speak the
Niihau dialect Niʻihau dialect ( haw, ʻŌlelo Niʻihau, label=Standard Hawaiian, haw, Olelo Matuahine, label=Niʻihau, lit=mother tongue) is a dialect of the Hawaiian language spoken on the island of Niʻihau, more specifically in its only settlement Puʻu ...
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 realizations 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 A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...
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 ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
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 Slack-key guitar (from Hawaiian ''kī hōalu'', which means "loosen the uningkey") is a fingerstyle genre of guitar music that originated in Hawaii after Portuguese cowboys introduced Spanish guitars there in the late 19th century. The Hawaiian ...
music, with an older style originating from Kohala.


Education

The
Hawaii Department of Education The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) is a statewide public education system in the United States. The school district can be thought of as analogous to the school districts of other cities and communities in the United States, but i ...
operates the Niihau School, a K-12 school. Academic subjects and computer literacy are combined with teaching students to "thrive from the land". The school is powered entirely by solar power. The number of students varies from 25 to 50 since families often travel between Niihau and Kauai. Schoolchildren may stay with relatives in west Kauai, where they attend one of two Niihau-focused public charter schools. At the Ke Kula Niihau o Kekaha school, students speak primarily the Niihau dialect through the early elementary grades, and then Hawaiian and English through grade 12. The school has a digital recording and video system, which helps to preserve and teach traditional Niihau and Hawaiian culture. At the other west Kauai school, Kula Aupuni Niihau a Kahelelani Aloha (KANAKA), English is used in all grades, while still supporting the Niihau dialect. Both schools foster the culture, values, and spirituality of Niihau. Efforts to establish KANAKA began in 1993 and its current version was established in 1999.


Economy

Approximately 80% of Niihau's income comes from a small Navy installation atop 1,300-foot-high cliffs. Remote-controlled tracking devices are used for testing and training with Kaua'i's Pacific Missile Range Facility. Modern missile defense tests are conducted at the site for the U.S. and its allies. The installation brings in millions of dollars a year, and provides the island with a stable economic base without the complexity of tourism or industrial development. 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 ''Euplica varians'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Columbellidae, the dove snails. It is known as ''Momi'' in Hawaii, which translates to "pearl". The shells of this species are commonly used in leis in Ni ...
''), ''laiki'' or rice shells (''
Mitrella margarita ''Graphicomassa margarita'', common name rice shells, Hawaiian name ''laiki'', is a species of small sea snail in the family Columbellidae, the dove snails. The shells of this species are used to make Leis in Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, ...
'') and ''kahelelani'' (''
Leptothyra verruca ''Collonista verruca'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Colloniidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Collonista verruca (Gould, 1845). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.ma ...
''). 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. A single, intricate Niihau shell lei can sell for thousands of dollars. Many 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 Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
cultivation was also no longer viable by 1999. Kiawe
charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...
was once a large-scale export, but aggressive
Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
price competition ended that as well. 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 Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...
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 The ecological footprint is a method promoted by the Global Footprint Network to measure human demand on natural capital, i.e. the quantity of nature it takes to support people or an economy. It tracks this demand through an ecological accounti ...
on the ecosystem and culture, possibilities include: JP-8 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.


Tourism

Niihau's owners have offered half-day helicopter and beach tours of the island since 1987, although contact with residents is avoided and no accommodation exists. Since 1992,
hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
safari A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an importa ...
s provide income via tourists who pay to visit the island to hunt
eland Eland may refer to: Animals *''Taurotragus'', a genus of antelope ** Common eland of East and Southern Africa ** Giant eland of Central and Western Africa Places * Eland, Wisconsin, United States * An old spelling of Elland, West Yorkshire * Ela ...
,
aoudad The Barbary sheep (''Ammotragus lervia''), also known as aoudad (pronounced ɑʊdæd is a species of caprine native to rocky mountains in North Africa. While this is the only species in genus ''Ammotragus'', six subspecies have been describ ...
, and oryx, as well as wild sheep and boars. Any meat the hunters do not take with them is given to the village.


In popular culture

* The final missions of the campaigns in the 2007 real-time strategy video game '' Supreme Commander'' and its expansion, '' Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance'' take place on Niihau, which houses the Black Sun installation. The island is roughly portrayed correctly, and the missions also feature several fictitious islands around the island of Niihau itself. * The Niʻihau Incident is portrayed in the 2019 film ''Enemy Within''.


References

* * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Niihau Islands of Hawaii Volcanoes of Hawaii Geography of Kauai County, Hawaii Extinct volcanoes Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain Private islands of the United States Pliocene volcanoes Neogene Oceania Cenozoic Hawaii Private islands of Oceania