Perspectives of Indigenous Bridges

Hsia Chao-Le-Ke   Hsia, Chao-Le-Ke Reviver of Black Millet and Lanyu Indigenous Pig Yeyin Village, Orchid Island  Hsia Chao-Le-Ke is a dedicated cultural practitioner from Ivalino (Yeyin) Village on Lanyu Island. After returning to his homeland following military service, he has committed himself to reviving traditional crops and indigenous food systems, seeking to restore the Tao people's ancestral relationship with the land. He is a pioneer in the revival of Lanyu's endemic black millet—a sacred and nearly forgotten grain once reserved for ritual blessings. Beginning with a few decorative stalks discovered in a relative's home, Hsia spent over a decade relearning cultivation techniques and reintroducing the crop into daily life. Through community-based innovation, black millet has transformed into local delicacies and culturally meaningful gifts that tell stories of island identity. In parallel, Hsia plays a key role in the preservation and sustainable development of the ...

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...

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...

Gerald Arcilla Santos, Regional Director for the ATAYAL Organization in the California Bay Area, organized an exhibit of the "Distant Journeys Of Cultural Exchange" at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center . The monthlong event at the OACC began on November 4, 2022. The traveling exhibit is curated by ATAYAL Regional Director Anthonie Tumpag, and it has been on display several times in the Chicago area. Regional Director Gerald Arcilla Santos The exhibit includes photos of the participation of the Taiwanese Indigenous delegation during the 2019 Tribal Canoe Journeys. It also includes Indigenous Taiwanese artifacts personally collected by Anthonie Tumpag. OACC has invited Tony Coolidge and Gerald Arcilla Santos to take part in a closing ceremony live-streamed on Instagram on Saturday, December 17th, where they will share views of the exhibit, describe the background and the organization. The Oakland Asian Cultural Center builds vibrant communities through Asian and Pacific Islande...

  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...

On Thursday, October 6, ATAYAL Executive Director Tony Coolidge gave a lecture at National Chengchi University (NCCU) on indigenous Taiwanese people, their culture and their connection to other indigenous Austronesian peoples. Students from ICI (International College of Innovation) found the lecture very interesting and informative.                  The lecture took place in NCCU's Downhill Campus.   Prof. Tzu-chi Ou, stated that although she worked on Han Chinese people, she has less knowledge on indigenous peoples of Taiwan. This is the reason why she found the lesson very informative. According to her, the most interesting part of the lecture was an answer given by Mr. Coolidge during the Q&A section. He said that when the Indigenous people from different countries and different parts of the world get together, the atmosphere is always very friendly. Prof. Ou also mentioned that our organization, ATAYAL a...

Anthonie Tumpag with his former Indonesian Gamelan instructor Pak Ngurah Kertayuda standing behind a gathering of canoes from the Indigenous Taiwanese, Philippines, and Indonesian cultures. Anthonie holds his miniature Tatala canoe pendant next to the Field Museum’s own small scale version of a Tatala from the Tao people. Earlier this summer, Anthonie Tumpag visited the Field Museum of Chicago where he took a personal behind-the-scenes tour of the museum's small collection of approximately 200 Indigenous Taiwanese artifacts that were collected and donated to the museum over the decades.      A few drawers containing indigenous Taiwanese artifacts from the Field Museum’s vaults Some materials in their collection were Paiwan weapons, Atayal textiles, basketry, jewelry, and also a few pieces from the Tao people such as a clay figurine of a pig and a small scale model of a Tatala canoe. Entryway to the Field Museum’s vaults including their extensive collection of 10,000 Phili...

  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 ...

A-way introduces her native Saisiyat language. So’o kayzaeh ay! My name is A-way (ah-wai) Maya Titiyon and my mother is from the Saisiyat People. It’s one of the smallest indigenous groups in the country. Our traditional lands are in Western Taiwan, mostly in the mountainous areas of Hsinchu (Wufong) and Miaoli (Nanzhuang and Shitan). My tribe (Wufong) has been greatly influenced by the much larger ethnic groups of Atayal and Haaka through intermarriage, which is why our language has become endangered with only about 1000 fully-fluent speakers. Even though my mother grew up in a Saisiyat village when she was young, she never learned the language, as she had to speak Mandarin at school, and most of her classmates either spoke Haaka or Atayal outside of the classroom. So, I grew up in an environment where I had little exposure to our culture, but at important festivals like paSta'ay, my family would bring their children back to participate. Even if I'm rarely in the tribe while ...

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...