How did Hawaii lose their land?

Answer 1

Aloha. Answer: THIS IS VERY INTERESTING. Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much) for such a good question.

For the native Hawaiians, Kahoolawe is a sacred island, deeply rooted in history, culture, and religion. Called "Kanaloa" or "Kohemalamalama" in ancient times, the island was inhabited by several hundred Hawaiians of 50 generations for over a thousand years. In 1920, the U.S. Army and Navy began using Kahoolawe for target practice and began routinely bombing it. The inhabitants were ordered off the island.

Native Hawaiians always fought to get it back. In 1953, President Eisenhower promised to return the island to Hawaiians but not until it was no longer useful to the military. In 1976, some Hawaiians took legal actions to get back Hawaiian control over the island. In 1981, the island was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and bombing was stopped by an Executive Order of President George Bush in 1990. A year later, Kahoolawe started to be returned to Hawaiian control. In 1993, the U.S. Government approved a $400 million clean-up fund for Kahoolawe, and in 1994 Kahoolawe was officially returned to Hawaii. Bombing was permanently banned. The island is presently undergoing clean-up and restoration