Is native anthropology really possible?

Although native anthropologists are often understood to be quite different from non-native anthropologists, this paper argues that the distinction is not as clear as is often presumed. Both types of anthropologists are partial outsiders who are positioned at a relative distance from those they study in the field. This is illustrated with a discussion of the author's own fieldwork with Japanese Americans as a 'native anthropologist'. Ultimately, the cultural differences we experience with the 'natives' are productive for fieldwork and essential for anthropological knowledge.