Are Mackinac Island Resident Considered Yoopers or Trolls?

It's one of the oldest debates in Michigan: where does 'Up North" begin? Michiganders have constant arguments about where Northern Michigan begins, but one thing that isn't for debate is what people who live in the Lower Peninsula are called, and what those who live in the Upper Peninsula are called: "Trolls" and "Yoopers", respectively, and each title spurs a different image of livelihoods based on their names.

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But what happens if you live between the two peninsulas? What group of people do you fall into? Or do you create a third group of Michiganders?

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This is the reality of people who live on Mackinac Island, the #1 summer travel destination in the United States. While the island does see a ton of tourists each summer, there are about ~500 full-time residents and ~800 during the summer months. What do these residents consider themselves to be?

Yooper, Troll, or Something Else?

Recently, I was researching an article about the Mackinac Island Cookie Co., and while scrolling through the comments, I stumbled across this question in the post. It got a response from the business that piqued my interest. Geographically, Mackinac Island is part of the Upper Peninsula, so they are technically all Yoopers.

However...

Mackinac Island Cookie Co. via Facebook

This was the first time I'd heard the term "Islanders', and yes, it isn't as revolutionary a term as Troll and Yooper: it's a pretty straightforward nickname. However, as the comment mentions, not everyone who lives on the island can call themselves an Islander.

READ MORE: How Residents Get Mail on Mackinac Island

Looking into this further, a seasonal worker who worked part-time on the island for four years and lived as a year-round resident for two years elaborated on this.

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It seems that it is an unspoken rule that only people who grew up on the island call themselves Islanders. If you move there, you're not necessarily considered an Islander either: rather, you'd be a "Mackinac Island resident".

Overall, it seems that they're Yoopers, Islanders, or Mackinac Islanders, or Mackinac Residents.