There are about 21,000 islands on Earth.  They constitute about 7% of the land area, and about 10% of the world’s population lives on them.  All but some 300 of these are “small islands” of less than 300 square miles, like Vashon Island (37 sq. mi.).  Very few small islands are able to govern themselves, but are subject to laws and policies made elsewhere.  When you live on a small island, the power always seems to reside somewhere else, not here.

The story of small islands is a sad chapter in world history.  Islands have been invaded by military, missionary, and commercial forces and exploited by tourist organizations.  Their indigenous people have been exterminated, converted to foreign religions, and exploited as sideshows.  Their forests and minerals have been taken for use elsewhere.  Invasive species of plants and animals have been introduced to further degrade their ecological stability.  It is no wonder that islanders characteristically feel vulnerable and defenseless.

Vashon Island has suffered along with other small islands, but not as severely as most of them.  When our forests were stripped a century ago, that wood went into buildings in Seattle and San Francisco, and the profits went to mainland corporations.  Military and missionary types have never taken Vashon seriously, except for a few cold war missile sites and some missionaries who knock on our doors.  Vashon has been invaded by many exotic plants and animals, but so far not catastrophically.

Yet Vashon struggles against the current to find self-governance.  There are some fifty-five non-profit organizations on the island working toward social, environmental, and economic improvement for us all.  Our Community Council consists of every adult resident who shows up to vote, and many of the Council’s efforts to influence mainland decision-makers have born good fruit.  Important political figures live on Vashon, islanders have been elected to the state legislature, and Vashon residents sit on the boards of major corporations.  There is power here, but not enough to decide our future.

Major issues such as water, energy, transportation, forestry, and economic policy are different on islands and mainlands for basic geologic, ecological, and demographic reasons.  What works over there is less likely to work well here.  The Island voice needs amplification.

Vashon Island is now a partner, through Vashon College, in the Global Islands Network, a coalition of hundreds of small islands working toward self-determination.  The network is supported by several agencies of the United Nations and by a number of universities worldwide (see globalislands.net).  We are not alone.

Governance on small islands will be one of the topics explored in a seminar on Island Studies offered in spring, 2009, by Vashon College.  Information is available at vashoncollege.org.