"The story of Niihau has been told many times by many people, but Niihau Place Names adds new information to the islands history from a unique source: Hawaiian-language newspapers. From 1834 to 1948, approximately 125,000 pages of Native Hawaiian expression were printed in more than 100 different newspapers. John R. K. Clark has gathered and edited a large collection of invaluable articles that recorded daily life on Niihau, events and topics of interest, and the islands place names. Additionally, Keao NeSmith, a Native Hawaiian of Kauai and an applied linguist, translator, and researcher fluent in olelo Hawaii, translated each passage into English. Most of these excerpts have not appeared in any other publication. Niihau is unique in the state of Hawaii because it is the only island that is entirely privately owned.

In 1864, Kamehameha V, the monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, sold the island to the Sinclairs, a wealthy immigrant family looking to establish a ranching business. Descendants of the Sinclairs still own the island today. Diverse opinions about the sale of Niihau were published in newspapers across the Hawaiian Islands, and this book traces the development and aftershocks of that historic event. Niihau Place Names contains over thirty kanikau (dirges, poetic chants) written and published from 1845 to 1931 to honor deceased Niihau residents. These compositions of deep emotion are treasuries of language, history, genealogy, cultural knowledge, and especially place names. Another important contribution in this volume is the identification of olelo noeau (proverbs and poetical sayings) with demonstrations of their use in everyday conversation. The book is divided into two main sections. "Niihau Places Names" is an alphabetical list of prominent place names on the island, accompanied by relevant passages in Hawaiian and their English translations.

The list also includes Lehua, the small island near the northwest tip of Niihau. "Niihau History" is an additional collection of articles that includes many lesser-known place names and elucidates other topics deemed worthy by reporters and contributors of the time. Following the main text, readers will find helpful indexes of general terms, place names, and personal names" -- Provided by publisher.