Perspectives of Indigenous Bridges

A local elder guided the delegation through an exploration of local culture and history The ATAYAL Organization worked with Sinopsis and the Bakala Foundation to provide a hands-on Indigenous cultural experience in Wulai District ( 烏來 區 ) of New Taipei City to a delegation of media reporters from the European Union. Instead of the typical "tourist" experiences of the closest Indigenous village to Taipei City, the volunteers of the ATAYAL Organization introduced the media members to Tranan Aboriginal Culture Camp . Local Atayal villagers introduced their culture, sharing the food, drink, customs and traditions, including a traditional barbecue of mountain boar. (Left to right) Our Taiwan organizer and volunteer interpreters After a morning of cultural activity, the delegation were introduced to dozens of local villagers who were participating in a holiday festival. The locals and the visitors were not apprehensive, and it wasn't long before they were playing some traditio...

  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 ...

  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...

(Left to Right) Jeff Choke, Hsiao Chu-Wu, William Tsang, Michael Mason, Jeff Chang, Daniel Kuo-ching Chen, Hanford McCloud, Jenny Kung, Justin Wei, Robert Thomas, Jr. March 26, 2021 - Bellevue, WA - A special cross-cultural ceremony took place at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) Culture Center in Bellevue Washington on Friday, March 26, 2021. The donation ceremony started with an acknowledgement of the land that this event took place on as the traditional home of the original caretakers who are still here today. Five thousand medical face masks and “Taiwan Can Help” care packages were donated to Nisqually tribe. DG Chen, President Chang, and Council/Board Member McCloud were presented with Certificates of Appreciation from the ATAYAL Organization. DG Chen presented the ATAYAL organization with Paiwan artwork from Taiwan. The Nisqually Tribe presented Taiwanese attendees with locally made gifts and posters of Chief Leschi, a prominent leader of the Nisqually Tribe. Proje...

The ATAYAL Organization has received the grant award of USD $10,000 from the Nisqually Charitable and Local Government Funds for their 2020 Grant. The grant proposal and application was made in September 2020, and it was requested for the funding of a delegation trip to Taiwan for two members of the Nisqually Tribe. The purpose is for outreach to establish cultural exchange trips for ATAYAL's Indigenous Youth Ambassador Program. The trip also includes components on indigenous tourism exchange and community emergency response for COVID-19. You can see the official proposal here:  https://www.indigenousbridges.org/files/2020-NisquallyCharitableApplication.pdf We are currently discussing the timing of this exchange trip to Taiwan in the face of the current status of the global pandemic. The funds are earmarked and will be set aside specifically for this future trip. The ATAYAL organization facilitates international indigenous exchanges through its Indigenous Bridges Programs. The prog...

      2022 Indigenous Bridges Virtual Conference: Revitalizing Indigenous Tourism In The Post-Pandemic World A virtual cultural exchange event of the Indigenous Bridges Youth Ambassador Program (IBYAP) hosted by the ATAYAL Organization.   Vision Statement   This virtual cultural exchange conference and exhibit strives to build connections between indigenous youth that starts with interactive culture-sharing opportunities that promote understanding. From the position of mutual respect and understanding, we offer a platform of learning and problem-solving activities that build leadership potential. While the pandemic has forced many of us to remain apart, technology has allowed our generation to remain connected digitally, where we can continue to advocate methods of sustainable development and environmental protection while respecting cultural traditions.   Objectives   The virtual cultural exchange event of the Indigenous Bridges Youth Ambassador Progr...

TAIPEI, TAIWAN - On Tuesday, October 27, 2020, Executive Director Tony Coolidge and Deputy Director Gary Smoke of the ATAYAL Organization were invited to attend a meeting with Professor Huang, Chi-ping, Director of the Center for Aboriginal Studies (ALCD) and her staff. The Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) assigned the ALCD the task of finding Taiwanese NGO's to cooperate with the ATAYAL Organization on indigenous cultural projects. The goal of the meeting was to gain an understanding the activities and needs the American non-profit organization in order to match the appropriate counterpart in Taiwan. After sharing the projects and history of the ATAYAL organization, the group discussed the upcoming trip to Taiwan of the Native American delegation and the prospective indigenous group they should visit. Also discussed was the Indigenous Youth Ambassador Program (IYAP). The goal of the meeting is to find appropriate NGO partners and sign Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) by the ...

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) ...