Question: why is niihau the forbidden island?
Answer: Niihau (pronounced NEE-EE-HOW) actually became the "Forbidden Island" during a polio epidemic in the Hawaiian Islands in 1952. ... The name stuck and, indeed, the only people allowed on Niihau for generations were relatives of the Robinsons and the 130 or so Native Niihuans living in the village of Puuwai.