Hawaiians fished, farmed, and lived in coastal and interior settlements across the entire island. In ancient times the island was called Kanaloa for the god of the ocean and the foundations of the earth. It was a place where kahuna and navigators were trained and it played an important role in early Pacific migrations. Today, Kaho'olawe serves as a foundation for the revitalization of Hawaiian cultural practices. It is 45 square miles, the smallest of the eight major Hawaiian Islands, and lies six miles southwest of Maui.
Steep cliffs border the southern and eastern coastlines of the island.
Its north and west facing sides are more gradually sloped, with a coastline of beaches and bays. Beginning in the 19th century and through 1988, feral goats and sheep overgrazed Kaho'olawe, eliminating the plant cover and causing massive soil erosion. Today the top one third of the island has been reduced to hardpan while reefs and coastal waters have been damaged by silt runoff. At the start of World War II, Kaho'olawe was taken by the U.S. military for use as a target and training area. Efforts to return the island to the people of Hawaii started as soon as it was taken for military purposes.