The Taiwan Journey: Traveling Around Taiwan in a Traditional Tatala Boat with its Builder Mi Sra Ko Sirman (Akai)


Written by Chloe Hsia


Tamsui District, New Taipei City, Taiwan


On October 9, 2020, the ATAYAL Organization hosted an event at the Tamsui Art Gallery with Mi Sra Ko Sirman (Akai), the builder of the traditional Tatala boat from Orchid Island. Akai is a Dawu (also known as Tao) tribe member, who builds the boat by hand and dreams to paddle around Taiwan in the Tatala, introducing everyone he comes across to the Dawu people and their culture and customs. 



During the event, Akai spoke with ATAYAL Executive Director Gary Smoke and detailed the plans for his journey. He noted that the journey may take up to three months, as he plans to break down the distance into shorter rowing segments. Akai also interviewed with Taiwan Indigenous Television and Taipei Times and answered questions about his journey and his canoe building process. 



For the past four years, ATAYAL and Indigenous Bridges has accompanied a group from Taiwan to America to join the Native American and First Nation tribes in the Tribal Canoe Journey. This is a yearly cultural event that teaches tribal youth the ways of their forefathers. It is a goal of the organization to bring the event to Taiwan to kickstart “The Taiwan Journey.” ATAYAL aims to assist Akai in his efforts and to work to develop his vision into an international event. Next year, the organization aims to invite Native American tribes to participate in the journey in Taiwan, as well as other Austronesian groups in the near future. The organization is currently looking for volunteers and partners to help accomplish Akai’s dream together. 


The ATAYAL organization is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization registered in Florida and Washington State, USA. Its mission is to preserve indigenous cultures and empower indigenous peoples by building bridges, or cooperation opportunities, that connect indigenous communities around the world. It was founded in 2001, and continues to organize and facilitate indigenous exchanges through its committed staff of volunteers and network of indigenous representatives.


For more information about the ATAYAL organization, please visit our website at https://www.indigenousbridges.org. To follow up on this press release, please contact:

 

Chloe Hsia

PR Coordinator 

ATAYAL organization

E-mail: press@indigenousbridges.org


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2023 Annual Report

Image
  We had the pleasure of introducing the Taloma Youth Group with the Yakan Tribe on Palawan The Year of 2023 was one of our busiest ever, with multiple exchange activities, as well as expanded development of relationships for the Indigenous Bridges Youth Ambassador Program (IBYAP). We also made key strategic decisions for the development of the IBYAP program, including the opening of our Hawai'i office in Maui and adding our Regional Director of Hawai'i, Leiven Hwang. Having three pillars for the program (Washington State/Hawai'i/Taiwan) creates a framework for exchange and cooperation between Austronesian communities, and likewise, we have the ability to introduce the beautiful cultures and timeless wisdom of the Austronesian peoples to American people. This year, we dove into various activities and upgraded our program as well. We made substantial progress with the four pillars of our organization:  Recruiting, Program Development, Partnerships and Fundraising . I. STAFF...
Read more

Niwa Maibut an ambassador for global language, Indigenous identity in Taiwan

Image
By Mackenzie Miller A twenty-minute car ride north from the city of Taitung, Taiwan, is the Indigenous village of Taoyuan, often referred to in the Bunun language by Indigenous residents as Pasikau. Pass under the village gate and a newly opened 7-Eleven, the Pasikau Presbyterian Church, a sprinkling of breakfast joints, and the occasional dog and neighbor precede the route to Niwa Maibut’s childhood home, situated on the corner of the Pasikau village now home to nearly 1,300 residents. Niwa Maibut drives car from Taitung to Pasikau village Maibut, having returned to Taitung to live permanently five years ago, is now conveniently able to reconnect with a physical place she ventured off from at a young age while also maintaining her relationship with a culture and people she never left behind. Today, on March 18, Maibut gathers her bags from the car upon arriving home in Pasikau and heads inside after a vocal greeting to assist her mother in dressing for today’s Bunun Ear Shooting Festi...
Read more

Distant Journeys of Cultural Exchange on display in Oakland California

Image
Gerald Arcilla Santos, Regional Director for the ATAYAL Organization in the California Bay Area, organized an exhibit of the "Distant Journeys Of Cultural Exchange" at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center . The monthlong event at the OACC began on November 4, 2022. The traveling exhibit is curated by ATAYAL Regional Director Anthonie Tumpag, and it has been on display several times in the Chicago area. Regional Director Gerald Arcilla Santos The exhibit includes photos of the participation of the Taiwanese Indigenous delegation during the 2019 Tribal Canoe Journeys. It also includes Indigenous Taiwanese artifacts personally collected by Anthonie Tumpag. OACC has invited Tony Coolidge and Gerald Arcilla Santos to take part in a closing ceremony live-streamed on Instagram on Saturday, December 17th, where they will share views of the exhibit, describe the background and the organization. The Oakland Asian Cultural Center builds vibrant communities through Asian and Pacific Islande...
Read more