Tag: Indigenous knowledge

Who Gets to Move? Activating Tayal Ethics in International Collaboration from Taiwan

Written by Wasiq Silan. This article invites us to rethink individualistic academic mobility and advocates for a decolonial approach to international collaboration. Drawing on journeys to New York and Panama with Taiwan’s Millet Ark team, the author introduces Indigenous methodologies such as lmuhuw (singing map/weaving) and qutux niqan (kinship bonds). The author argues that meaningful collaboration requires moving collectively with Elders and youth, transforming travel from knowledge extraction into relational accountability.

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Threads in Entangled Worlds: Indigenous Knowledge and Weaving Heritage in Taiwan

Written by Ipiq Matay. This article explores the tension between embodied Indigenous knowledge and rigid institutional heritage frameworks in Taiwan. Through tminun (weaving), how cultural heritage is a lived, relational practice passed down through muscle memory, rhythm, and ancestral law (gaya), rather than static museum displays. The author calls on cultural institutions to look beyond simple representation and embrace dynamic Indigenous epistemologies on their own terms.

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Rukai Tribe’s Millet Farming: Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Change Adaptation Wisdom 

Written by Tzu-Ming Liu. The article discusses how the Rukai tribe’s traditional millet intercropping system not only sustains their food security and cultural heritage but also serves as an effective adaptation strategy to climate change. It also critiques government policies and economic shifts that have neglected these Indigenous practices, leading to environmental injustice and increased vulnerability to extreme weather events.

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Return to the Land and People: Contemporary Indigenous Knowledge System Project in Taiwan

Written by Yi-tze Lee. Following the Construction of the Taiwanese Indigenous Knowledge System (hereafter IKS) Project initiated by the Council of Indigenous Affairs (原住民族委員會), the establishment of the regional Indigenous Knowledge System Center is booming in 2022. The commissioned project results from a long fight for the indigenous cultural right, an example of autonomy in indigenous studies, and efforts on identity awakening. This article will explain the background of the IKS project, discuss the expectation, and reveal some critiques of the project in general. 

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