Indigeneity Under the Microscope: Critiquing the Policy of Taiwan's Indigenous Experimental Schools

• In Event: Accepting Educational Responsibility: The Importance of Indigenous Research and Praxis 2

Abstract

In 2016, the first ever “indigenous experimental school” opened for the Atayal indigenous people, one of the 16 officially recognized Austronesian indigenous groups in Taiwan. In the four years following, approximately thirty indigenous schools in Taiwan have followed its lead. Taiwan’s indigenous Austronesian people constitute nearly half a million people. Although they only represent 2% of Taiwan’s total population, they nevertheless wield substantial influence over the country’s aspiring sovereign status by providing an alternative narrative to Chinese identity and affiliation long promulgated by contentious politics on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. This study draws from ethnographic data from these newly opened indigenous experimental schools, as well as interviews of those involved with promoting indigenous education development and policy making.

Author

• Eric W. Layman, Kiangsu-Chekiang College