RESOURCES

Austronesian News and Resources

The 72-hour Austronesian connection - December 21, 2017 - Renowned Maori singer Moana Maniapoto spent three days in the mountains of Hsinchu last week working on and recording a song with Atayal artist Inka Mbing about their respective endangered languages

Photo of the Day: Facial tattoos of Atayal women - October 23, 2017 - Atayal women wear temporary tattoos to honor tradition at aborigine harvest festival in New Taipei City

Birthplace of Austronesians is Taiwan, capital was Taitung: Scholar - September 6, 2017 - Taiwanese scholar proposes that nexus of ancient Austronesian culture was eastern Taiwan's Taitung

【2015 森林之心 雅泰服裝秀】Atayal Forest Runway - December 4, 2015 - YouTube.com MeimeiWawa Multimedia - 5th Annual Atayal Forest Runway in the mountains of Shei-pa National Park

Indigenous Taiwanese open their lands, cultures to gain acceptance - July 18, 2015 - Los Angeles Times - An introduction into the indigenous Taiwanese people and cultural sites for American readers.

Who Are the Taiwanese Indigenous Peoples? - July 7, 2015 - CNN.com - A discovery and introduction to the indigenous tribes of Taiwan.

How paradise became the fattest place in the world - May 1, 2015 - CNN.com - A look at why Austronesian islanders are some of the most obese people in the world.

Empowering Language Revitalization - February 1, 2015 - Taiwan Review - Members of Taiwan's Amis tribe adopt a teaching method developed by New Zealand's Maori to help revive their mother tongue.

Teaching couple establish Aboriginal orchestra - February 4, 2014 - Taipei Times - Wang Tzu-chien (王子建) and Chen Pei-wen (陳珮文) establish an aboriginal orchestra in Cinai Village (親愛), in Renai Township (仁愛) Taiwan.

Expert says skeleton found on Matsu linked to Austronesia - July 17, 2013 - China Post - Two sets of skeletal human remains, each set well over 7,000 years old, that had been discovered earlier on Liang Island of Matsu are believed to have belonged to people from the Austronesia language family, an expert said yesterday citing results of a DNA research on the remains.

Obscure Maori Taiwan Connection Pops up in Trade Pact - July 11, 2013 - Wall Street Journal | China Blog - Taiwan signs its first economic cooperation agreement with a country that is considered to have a 'developed' economy. Included in the agreement is a clause that calls for the indigenous people's of both islands to foster links, due to their cultural connection to each other.

Standing on Shaky Ground - April 09, 2013 - ABC News - A news story by Mark Willacy, a foreign correspondent of ABC News. This story details the dangers of Fukushima-type nuclear disasters on Taiwan, where aging nuclear power plants are built on a fault zone, and on sites vulnerable to tsunamis. The story also documents the plight of the proud Austronesian tribal group known as the Tao on Lanyu Island, where nuclear waste has been dumped for decades without their permission.

Polynesian DNA found in old Native American bones - April 1, 2013 - PNAS (National Academy of Sciences of the USA) - Polynesian DNA has unexpectedly been discovered in the bones of now-extinct Native Americans who once lived in the interior of Brazil. These surprising findings are raising a variety of suggested answers to how this occurred, including the travels of ancient seafarers or the more recent slave trade.

Taiwanese linguist races to save dying language - January 09, 2013 - Huffington Post - An article discussing how the Taiwanese linguist, Su Ling-may, is working hard to record and document the disappearing Kankanavu language before it disappears. There are only 10 native speakers left. What is significant, is that this language is the one that is the most related to the languages that spread throughout the Pacific thousands of years ago.

Endangered Aboriginal languages - October 31, 2012 - Taipei Times - Aboriginal languages are facing grave threats to their survival. Does the urban diaspora hold a possible solution?

The value of indigenous industries - October 12, 2012 - CNN.com Blogs - An article from the Outlook Taiwan section. It discusses how the Taiwanese government is helping to keep indigenous language and culture alive.

Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation (IPCF) in Taiwan launches Internet radio service - August 06, 2012 - Taiwan Today - This new radio station strengthens the provision of information services for indigenous communities islandwide and provides the potential for international news distribution. The 24-hour broadcasts will help preserve traditional languages, raise the profile of indigenous culture and provide a platform for Taiwan society to learn more about aboriginal people and their issues of concern.

Blood transfusion researcher rediscovers genetic history - December 4, 2011 - The China Post - The research of Marie Lin (林媽利), a well-respected doctor and blood transfusion researcher at Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taiwan provides scientific proof that the indigenous people of New Zealand, New Guinea and Polynesia can trace their bloodlines back to the indigenous tribes of Taiwan.

Taiwan seeks to save indigenous languages - July 14, 2010 - BBC News - An article from the Taiwanese government's efforts to save their indigenous languages from disappearing.

Pacific People Spread from Taiwan, Language Evolution, Study Shows - January 27, 2009 - Science Daily - An article discussing how the Pacific populations originated in Taiwan about 5,200 years ago. The Austronesian Migration Thoery is detailed.

Pioneers of the Pacific - March 2008 - National Geographic - An article discussing how the ancient Pacific migrations and supporting evidence. Jonathan Friedlander discusses the DNA connection to Taiwan in this story in the same issue.

Atayal woman revives full facial tattooing tradition - January 22, 2008 - Taipei Times - A woman from the Atayal tribe in the east had an elaborate tattoo ingrained on her face, marking the first time an Aboriginal woman in Taiwan has had her face tattooed in nearly a century.

Taiwan, twinned with Hawaii - July 07, 2005 - The Economist - An article discussing the Austronesian Migration Theory and the Polynesian connection with Taiwan.

Indigenous Films

Beyond Hawaiki - A film documenting Maori filmmaking students as they journey to Taiwan to discover ancient cultural connections between the Taiwanese Austronesian tribes and the Maori tribes.

Made In Taiwan - A film documenting a Maori man and his friend traveling backwards through the Austronesian migration route from New Zealand back to Taiwan.

Voices In The Clouds - A film about a journey of discovery through the indgenous communities of Taiwan. Directed and co-produced by Aaron Hosé and co-produced by Chris Bremer.

1000 Years of Tayal - A preview video provided by Shei-pa National Park Headquarters.

Indigenous Languages

NTU Corpus of Formosan Languages - A database of indigenous languages in Taiwan compiled by National Taiwan University.

Indigenous Media

Taiwan Indigenous Television - Channel 16 is a public television station providing news and programming in the indigenous languages of Taiwan for its indigenous communities.

TITV Weekly - Taiwan Indigenous Television - A weekly magazine for Channel 16, which is a public television station providing news and programming in the indigenous languages of Taiwan for its indigenous communities.

Indigenous Museums

National Museum of Prehistory - The Taiwan National Museum of Prehistory, located in Taitung City, offers a comprehensive collection of artifacts and exhibits educating visitors on and ancient prehistory of Taiwan and their connections to mordern-day indigenous peoples.

Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines - The Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines is a museum located diagonally across from the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan. It houses exhibits relating to the cultures and histories of the Taiwanese aborigines.

Wulai Atayal Museum - A museum focused on the Atayal tribal culture and history, especially in the Wulai region of Taiwan, where the museum is located.

Indigenous Organizations: Governmental

Council for Indigenous Peoples - The executive yuan of the Taiwanese government responsibile for administering government policy on the indigenous population of Taiwan.

United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues - An annual forum held in the United Nations building in New York City to give indigenous leaders of the world the opportunity to present their issues to world leaders.