2021 Indigenous Bridges Youth Ambassador Program Development Trip

 

Meeting with the Chair of the Indigenous Studies Department of NDHU.

 

From May 10-13, 2021, three members of the ATAYAL Organization traveled to Hualien and Taitung, Taiwan in order to establish key partnerships for exchanges related to the Indigenous Bridges Youth Ambassador Program (IBYAP). Tony Coolidge, Gary Smoke and Tun-wen Chiang spent three days meeting the partners to share about the program and to secure commitments for their participation. This was a week before COVID-19 broke out in Taiwan, when the economy was open and travel was free and unfettered. It was also a good opportunity to explore the indigenous cultures of Taiwan's East Coast.

Meeting Kimi Sabal at the Atayal Facial Tattoo Studio

 

The first new partner we visited in Hualien was Keui-shih Tien (Kimi Sabal) of the Atayal Facial Tattoo Studio. You can read an article about Kimi Sabal and his life's work in Cultural Survival Magazine, written by our PR Coordinator, Sylvia Dean. Mr. Tien has preserved his life documenting the facial tattoo culture of the Atayal, Seediq and Truku tribes of Taiwan, in order to dispel myths and negative stereotypes. The studio will be on of the sites visited by Indigenous Bridges Youth Ambassadors that visit Taiwan during future exchanges.

Gary Smoke gives an English lesson at National Dong Hwa University

On Tuesday, May 11th, Professor Jolan Hsieh of National Dong Hwa University arranged for us to meet a group of students to make a presentation of the Indigenous Bridges Youth Ambassador Program. Tony Coolidge gave a short presentation of the organization and the IBYAP program, while Gary Smoke gave the students an English lesson to overcome their inhibitions of using English. As a result, we had an initial group of students sign up for the program. Before we left, we met the Chair of the program, and he proposed that our organization offer a workshop to provide English-language training to the students for their cultural presentations.

The Millet Garden at NDHU.

While we were at National Dong Hwa University, we visited the Millet Garden, where, in 2012, the organization brought a delegation of Maori students from the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand. They were participating in ATAYAL's Taproot Cultural Exchange Program. During an outdoor dinner party hosted by NDHU in 2012, the Maori students planted saplings, which now had 9 years to grow taller.

Experiencing an Indigenous Night Market
 

That evening, the members of our organization met with an Amis family, who showed us a night market that was distinctive, in that it featured indigenous food and culture. The daughter of the Amis family is a prospect for the IBYAP program in the future, and we shared the opportunities with her mother.

Traditional Tatala canoes can be found throughout Taitung City.
 

On Wednesday, May 12th, we proceeded to Taitung City, a beautiful part of Taiwan with a majority indigenous population. We experienced the local culture, and before we left, we had a meeting with the National Prehistory Museum, which was undergoing major renovations. During our meeting, we discussed the INBYAP program and the nature of future cooperation. The museum is an important site where the visiting youth can learn about Taiwan's indigenous culture and history. It also offers facilities for accommodations, meetings and presentations for IBYAP, and it is an ideal home base before INBYAP members visit Orchid Island.

Meeting with our points of contact at the National Prehistory Museum.

At the conclusion of the trip, the three ATAYAL members returned to Tainan City. Tony and Gary met with two of the organization's Board Members, where they enjoyed pizza and shared the details of the trip.

Click to View Photo Gallery of the Trip

Meeting our Board Members in Tainan City at the conclusion of the trip.