Keith Robinson is an American environmentalist who is the co-owner of Niʻihau, the second-smallest of the eight principal Hawaiian Islands.
Robinson has repeatedly expressed his desire to keep Niʻihau privately owned so as to preserve the environment and traditions of its 150 to 200 native Hawaiian inhabitants, and has occasionally taken large financial losses to do so. As under his predecessors, Robinson has kept Niʻihau largely closed to outside visitors, though a few hunters and other tourists are admitted each year—but with limited or no contact with the islanders. Robinson continues to ban radios, televisions and mobile phones on the island, in an effort to preserve as much of the indigenous island culture as possible. In 1997, Robinson estimated that between $8–9 million was spent to keep people employed, not counting the free housing and free meat provided to the 150-200 Niʻihau islanders. After 135 years of operation, the ranch on the island shut down in 1999, rendering all its inhabitants unemployed.
Robinson expressed concerns about his family’s ability to continue to maintain their ownership of Niʻihau, due to pressure from the federal and state governments and environmental groups. Environmental lawsuits have been launched against the family by groups such as Earthjustice, while taxes on the island have taken much of the profits from the Robinsons’ interests in agricultural companies. Keith Robinson has compared his plight on Niʻihau to Ruby Ridge and the Waco Siege, threatening to defend his island with force if necessary. Keith and Bruce Robinson have reportedly been offered over $1 billion to sell Niʻihau to the US Federal government or possibly to turn over ownership to Hawai’i state. They have turned all offers down.
In 2005 a documentary on him was released titled Robinson Crusader.
