Kaho'olawe - Turbulent History: Hopeful Future

The smallest of the eight Hawaiian islands, Kaho'olawe is often overlooked as part of this majestic achipeligo. The island can be seen along with Molokini from the southern shore of its more popular neighbor, Maui. Kaho'olawe is seven miles southwest of Maui and east of Lan'i.

Similar to the other Hawaiian islands, Kaho'olawe is a volcanic island comprised mostly of dry and arid soil due to it's relatively low altitude with the highest crater, Lua Makika and it's summit, Pu'u Moaulanui which peaks at 1,477 fee above sea level.

More than a century ago, Polynesian settlers established small fishing villages along the coast of Kaho'olawe with limited cultivation of the central portion of the island due to the lack of adequate rain fall for agricultural expansion.

There are currently no permanent inhabitants of Kaho'olawe which is thought to peak at a population of approximately 200 people with the majority living in the northeastern coastal town of Hakioawa (facing the island of Maui).

There were several events that negatively impacted this small island. In the 18th century, Kahoolawe was raided and pillaged during the War of Kamokuhi by the ruler of the Island of Hawai'i (the Big Island) in an attempt to overthrow with the King of Maui. This violent conflict led to near extinction of the Kaho'olawe's population. This event was followed by King Kamehameha III establishing the island as a penal colony replacing the death penalty in the mid-1800s. The island was used for exiled prisoners until 1858 when the law was repealed.

The Hawaiian government began to invest in the expansion of agriculture and the development of Kaho'olawe in the late-1800s (1858). Slowly crops and cattle began to survive in spite the continued challenges with the harsh terrain. The island's population at the time had begun to rebuild and the cattle industry demonstrated transient signs of possible success.

The attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan in 1941 resulted in the complete devastation of Kahoolawe after the United States Army declared martial law though out Hawaii and established the island as a bombing range and training ground for the U.S. military. The denigration and destruction of Kahoolawe didn't end after World War II. The U.S. Government continued to use the island for tactical military and missile targeting exercised on both the island and its surrounding shores including massive explosions with unimaginable amounts of TNT cracking the core of the island resulting in the loss of ground water into the ocean and the creation of a creator called "Sailor Man's Cap".

Cycling along south Maui, Kaho'olawe can be seen in the distance surrounded by the colorful Pacific Ocean. The sunlight dances over the ocean waves and create shadows along the steep banks of the island's northeastern shores.

Recently, a wildfire burned more than 30% of the island. As I look across the waves, Kaho'olawe continues to live under the halo of the Hawaiian sun. Fire, bombs, prisons or draught can't contain the beauty and majesty of the smallest of the eight Hawaiian Islands.

Mahalo ke akua,

Nomad's Lens