Perspectives of Indigenous Bridges

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on the global economy and world health. It put a stop to cultural exchange activities from around the world and it has affected non-profit organizations, as donor priorities have shifted towards pandemic prevention. Even dark clouds have silver linings. The downtime has given our organization the opportunity and the time to focus on our strategic planning and program development. We have also had breakthroughs in developing key relationships. Our team is growing! Many of our staff and board members are relatively new, so we will take this opportunity to provide this Statement for everyone to understand where our organization stands and what we are committed to achieving together as a team. A QUICK INTRODUCTION TO OUR ORGANIZATION 1) Here is information about our organization, at a quick glance: 2) We are an American 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2001. 3) The organization is registered in Florida and Washington State. 4) ...

To view more photos from the meeting, click here . Meeting Notes ATAYAL Attendees: Tony Coolidge (Executive Director) Gary Smoke (Deputy Director) Chloe Hsia (PR Coordinator) Johan Coolidge (Indigenous Youth Ambassador Program Coordinator) Joey Chiu (Assistant for Mask Sourcing) Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) Attendees: Ruey-yng Wang (Director, Department of General Planning) Kang-ning Lee (Section Chief, Department of General Planning) Sayun Tosu (Specialist, Department of General Planning) Chung-hao Shen (Officer, Department of General Planning) Meeting Agenda: The meeting was called to present and discuss the four current projects planned by the ATAYAL organization for 2020-2021. The Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) responded with how they could support each project. Since ATAYAL has the mission of facilitating indigenous exchanges, through culture education, tourism  and trade, our goal is to find partners who can work together with our assistance. With this meeting, t...

On Saturday, December 28, 2019, Directors Tony Coolidge (with his family) and Gary Smoke of our organization visited Christian Mountain Childrens Home in Liouguei District of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. It was a huge celebration, which combined their annual anniversary with the grand opening of their new facilities on their campus. The Coolidge family and Gary Smoke attending the December 28 celebration. They were invited by Reverend Joseph Yang, the director of Taiwan's famous orphanage, which has mostly indigenous children from different tribes in Taiwan. Reverend Yang is, himself, descended from an indigenous mother from the Atayal tribe. His mother and father founded the home for children, which is a very touching story, in itself. Aside from enjoying the festivities, the visitors introduced the Tribal Journeys Youth Exchange Program and what participation could be arranged for the Liouguei Indigenous Choir, which is an important part of the orphanage. The choir tra...