Perspectives of Indigenous Bridges

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...

  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...

  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 ...

The work of Indigenous language preservation continues, despite the pandemic. Indigenous youth from the Paiwan group participating in the2021 National Indigenous Language Speech Contest in Taoyuan, Taiwan. Despite the Omicron variant of COVID-19 spreading worldwide, prompting additional protection measures, including lockdowns, in many countries, Taiwan has remained relatively safe. As of 12/25, Taiwan's authorities reported a total of 27 imported cases of the Omicron variant , all from inbound flights from fully-vaccinated travelers. However, there currently have been no local cases. The lack of local cases has allowed Taiwan to remain in business-as-usual mode, with some protective measures remaining in place. Students practice their speeches before they compete.   Schoolchildren have attended classes at school since the Fall Semester began, despite a partial lockdown affecting Taiwan from May-August 2021. Cultural and educational activities have also continued, including indigen...

  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 pres...