Perspectives of Indigenous Bridges

Huang Bi-Mei   Huang, Bi-Mei Wisdon-Keeper and Practitioner of Women's Songs and Dances DongqingVillage, Orchid Island  Hailing from Dongqing Village, Huang Bi-Mei is a vital bearer of women's cultural heritage on Lanyu. For decades, she has devoted herself to the transmission of ceremonial songs and dances, playing a key role in local women's groups and serving as a living repository of language, ritual, and embodied cultural memory. Through her leadership, she guides younger generations to understand the deeper cultural contexts behind Lanyu's melodies, movements, and oral expressions, ensuring that her community’s embodied traditions live on. Born into a respected canoe-building family, she also participated as a family member in the making of Si Mangavang, the great plank canoe of Dongqing Village. She witnessed firsthand the collective strength behind the vessel—from the gathering of timber to its construction, blessing ceremonies, and eventual launching. Although ...

Si Rojiang (Huang, Guang-de)   Si Rojiang (Huang, Guang-de) Master Canoe Builder Dongqing Village, Orchid Island  Huang Guang-De, an elder from a renowned canoe-building family of the Tao (Yami) people in Dongqing Village, Orchid Island (Lanyu 蘭嶼), is one of the few remaining traditional artisans on the island who fully master the construction of tatala (plank-built canoes). With profound indigenous knowledge and a deep connection to nature, he personally sources timber from the mountains and tests his vessels in the ocean, preserving the Tao's seafaring culture where canoes are considered part of the family. Huang has successfully voyaged across the Kuroshio Current from Orchid Island (Lanyu 蘭嶼) to Taitung in a handcrafted canoe, retracing the ancestral maritime routes of his people. In recent years, he has actively participated in international cultural collaborations, including joining the Taiwan Outrigger Canoe Club (TOCC) in a canoe-building project with two master builde...

From left to right: Gary Smoke, Ambassador Jarden Kephas (Nauru), Ambassador Bikeni Paeniu (Tuvalu), Tony Coolidge On Monday, October 2nd, 2023, a day after the 45th Independence Day of Tuvalu, two Officers of the ATAYAL Organization visited the offices of H.E. The Right Honorable Bikeni Paeniu, Ambassador of Tuvalu. The purpose of the meeting was twofold: to discuss rebuilding efforts of communities in Maui and to discuss participation of Tuvaluan youth in the ATAYAL Organization's Indigenous Bridges Youth Ambassador Program (IBYAP).  Click to view profile of the organization and the IBYAP program The ATAYAL Organization offered a presentation about the Indigenous Bridges Youth Ambassador Program, and discussed its plans form an Austronesian delegation to participate in the program, including the annual Tribal Canoe Journeys in Washington State. The event is the largest Indigenous cultural event that brings together canoe-going groups, currently attracting thousands of participant...

Monday, July 3, 2023 - TAIPEI - The ATAYAL Organization is organizing a benefit concert event, "Our Journey IV" Benefit Concert, which will take place on Sunday, July 9, 2023 at the Beitou VW Football Park in Beitou District, Taipei City ( 英商明星足球訓練有限公司台灣分公司  | Click For Map ). The event will be co-hosted by Ella Wilkins and led by emcee Tony Taylor and DJ Marcus. The event will showcase a diverse lineup of musical acts and cultural presentations from 3:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Musical acts include: Rockits, Dubb Roots Collective, The Dog's Bollocks, Am I Blue with James Liu and Alex Teachey, Oldtimers Jan and Lito, Deinovore (Metal), Neuropathik (Metal), DC Rapier, Jason Pannell, Dan Lovejoy (Bluegrass), B.B. Cooky Blues Band, and Fao To. Other performances will be provided by JV Juggler, Belize Cultural Dancers and Indigenous Bridges Youth Ambassadors of the ATAYAL Organization . 2023年6月12日星期一 - 台北 - 愛泰雅協會正在籌辦一場慈善音樂會活動，名為「我們的旅程IV」慈善音樂會，將於2023年7月9日星期日在台北市北投區北投足球公園舉行（英商明星足...

  The Year of 2022 started off with the end of the Zero-COVID Policy in Taiwan, thanks to the Omicron wave overcoming its borders. The first half of the year saw changes in policy as COVID was no longer seen as a serious threat to public health. Public health policies became less restrictive and, as a result, our organization's activities gained momentum. The next year promises to see a resumption of normal cultural exchange activities, thanks to the opening of borders and the reduction in restrictions. Last year, our organization used the down time to be productive, strengthening the foundation for a sustainable future. This year, we made substantial progress with the four pillars of our organization:  Recruiting, Program Development, Partnerships and Fundraising . I. RECRUITING In 2021, we added an important member to our Board and Staff. Wennifer Lin Haver – Secretary and Program Director Wennifer Lin Haver, PhD is a founder of a non-profit organization who earned her Ma...

  This document lays out the path for the future of our non-profit organization, including the steps required to achieve our ultimate goal, empowering the next generations of Indigenous leaders to build international connections and develop sustainable community development projects. Our future vision embraces our longstanding Mission Statement: Our organization empowers Indigenous youth to be future problem-solvers, building international connections, exchanges, and programs that bridge the gap between the sustainability of traditional knowledge and the societal challenges of the modern world. 2023 VISION The organization completes organizational overhaul and rebranding of programs, adding officers, board members, fundraising director, and other key directors The organization raises USD $50,000 annually to fund legacy programs The organization is registered in 3 U.S. States The organization supports Indigenous Bridges Youth Ambassadors from 6 First Nations USD $2,000 in educationa...

  Si Mateneng, the Indigenous Bridges Youth Ambassador from the Tao Peoples shares a presentation. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE ATAYAL ORGANIZATION The 2022 Annual General Meeting of the Board of Directors of the ATAYAL Organization was held on Saturday, November 12, 2022  at the English Library in Taipei, and it was also broadcast online via Google Meets. According to the the Quorum defined in our previous By-laws, we had at least two of our Board Members in attendance. During this meeting, we shared 2022 achievements and discussed the 10-Year Vision for the organization. ATTENDANCE Those in attendance of the 2022 Annual Meeting and their titles are as follows: 1) Tony Coolidge, President, Secretary, and acting Executive Director 2) Shu-min Coolidge, Treasurer 3) Gary Smoke, Vice President and acting Deputy Director There were about 25 additional guests in attendance. DISTRIBUTION OF DOCUMENTS 1)  Annual Report 2)  Bylaws 3)  Organizational Chart 4)  2022...

  Over a three week period in July of 2022, the ATAYAL Organization facilitated an online cultural exchange event organized by Edu-Odyssey . The participants, which included two Indigenous Bridges Youth Ambassadors, brought together university and high school students in Taiwan to have meaningful, topic-oriented interactions with American students from Texas State University (San Marcos, Texas). The students had discussions in English and Chinese during their 1-hour sessions in breakout rooms using the Zoom platform, to provide more direct, personal exchanges. With the participation of the ATAYAL Organization, Directors Tony Coolidge and Gary Smoke organized a session dedicated to introducing Taiwan's Indigenous cultures to the American Students and Taiwanese students. Tony Coolidge shared a short presentation to the Taiwanese students and three youth ambassadors shared stories about their culture and what it meant to them to be of Indigenous lineage. While Syaman Lamuran shared ...

On Monday, March 14, ATAYAL Executive Director Tony Coolidge and Tribal Canoe Journeys participant, Johan Coolidge, gave a lecture at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) on indigenous Taiwanese people, their culture and their connection to other indigenous Austronesian peoples. He was invited by Professor Mucahid Gezerogullari to offer a presentation to the students of his Studies in Political Ecology class. In this lecture, students were given the opportunity to explore the international possibilities available through the connections of the Austronesian peoples of Taiwan with the Austronesians around the world. They also were asked to imagine what the connections and cooperation would offer all of Taiwanese society. Johan Coolidge shares his experiences with Indigenous culture exchange. Johan Coolidge shared his personal experiences interacting with Native American and Native Hawaiian youth at the annual Tribal Canoe Journeys events in 2018 and 2019. He also discussed how develo...

We are proud to welcome  Amanda Minor  to the ATAYAL Team, where she will serve as our  Public Relations Director  and Journalist for Indigenous Bridges. She will work not only to share the stories of indigenous people and culture, but also to learn about these cultures so critical to Taiwan’s history, and to extend their reach to other parts of the world. Amanda will manage our social media campaign, documenting our activities and sharing indigenous knowledge through the various platforms. Amanda Minor grew up in the United States and studied communications and anthropology. This interest led her to Taiwan shortly after graduating, where she continued her master’s studies in International Business Management. Working professionally in marketing, she is specializing her skills within public relations and social media management. She is happiest when exploring new parts of rural Taiwan through road trips or hikes, and taking in all the raw nature as contrast to the ci...