Islanders in Community: Identity Negotiation through Sites of Conflict and Transcripts of Power

Abstract

This paper explores the problem of negotiated identity on Madeline Island (Wisconsin, USA). In this social context, who is and who is not an islander is not clearly defined as simply “locals” or “tourists.” The winter population is numerically overwhelmed by the summer population, many of whom spend several months on the island over the summer. This creates a sliding scale of participation where the island identity is negotiated in the context of the rest of the island community. This negotiation is examined in geographic sites of conflict, discourse, and the transcripts referencing winter and its effects on people. This paper takes islanders’ colloquial categories, builds them out more objectively, and illustrates how these categories and their membership is negotiated through claims to the “Islander” identity.