Based on her fieldwork in post-disaster Fukushima, her hometown, the author reflects on how she negotiated insider and outsider identity as she navigated through multiple contested discourses and emotional spaces. In writing this reflective essay, she referred to the field notes she kept during her seven-month stay in Fukushima. The author navigated through: 1) anti-discourse on scientific research; 2) anti-nuclear discourse; 3) Fukushima reconstruction discourse; and 4) community of trauma, occupying both insider and outsider positions in those discourses and emotional space during her research. The reflection generated by navigating through these positions indicates that the researcher's affiliation with the native culture does not automatically provide insider status in a post-disaster community. However, researchers can utilize both the insider and outsider positions to deepen their understanding of the complex political context of the community while finding ways to assist the community's recovery as co-witnesses. To carry out this role, the author suggests that researcher make a long-term commitment to the community and gain knowledge about trauma and its effects in their research method courses.