Kauaʻi · HI
Niʻihau
The Forbidden Isle, where Hawaiian is the everyday language.
- Population
- 84 (2020 census)
- Bought
- 1864, for $10,000
- Closed to visitors
- 1915
Then
- 1864
Elizabeth Sinclair buys the island for $10,000 in gold.
- 1915
Her grandson Aubrey Robinson closes Niʻihau to most visitors.
- 1941
A Japanese pilot crash-lands here after the Pearl Harbor attack.
- 2004
A state law protects Niʻihau shell leis from counterfeits.
Now
The Robinson family still runs the island, and it is the only place where Hawaiian is the main language. The tide station is at Nonopapa.