Tribal treat for Taiwan’s foreigners puts Indigenous people in spotlight

On Saturday, July 19, Hualien County Government hosted "Mission: Tribal Hualien! A One-Day Indigenous Cultural Adventure," inviting local foreign residents to immerse themselves in Taiwan’s Indigenous culture during the 2025 Pacific Austronesian Indigenous Joint Harvest Festival, one of the island’s largest Indigenous celebrations.

I traveled to Hualien for TCN to experience how the local government promotes the culture of Taiwan’s often-overlooked Indigenous peoples.

Understanding Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples

Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples are often overlooked, as international media tends to reduce the island to semiconductors or geopolitical flashpoints. Many outside Taiwan don’t realize these communities exist.

Currently, Taiwan recognizes 16 Indigenous Austronesian tribes, though more are seeking official status. Anthropologists widely consider Taiwan the original homeland of Austronesian-speaking peoples, who began migrating south to Southeast Asia and the Pacific between 5000 and 2500 BC.

Though official figures list Indigenous people as just 2.5% of Taiwan’s population, that number could rise to 6% as more groups gain recognition. With 27.5% of its population identifying as Indigenous, Hualien County has the largest indigenous population in Taiwan.

Mission: Tribal begins

After a night enjoying Hualien’s cleaner air, I headed to the train station to join a bus of Mission Tribal guests. Outside, Tropical Storm Wipha pelted the streets with rain, drenching the city in thick sheets of water as we prepared to depart.

The bus was filled with a lively mix of international students and foreign professionals from Malaysia, India, Colombia, Canada, Japan, France, Indonesia, Vietnam, Paraguay, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Amid the chatter and laughter, I noticed Brendon, a Computer Science student from Saint Vincent on a Ministry of Foreign Affairs scholarship, sitting across from me. Curious about his perspective, I asked, “Do these trips strengthen ties between Saint Vincent and Taiwan?”

“Definitely,” he said. “Events like this open the door to genuine cultural exchange. As someone from SVG, being welcomed into Indigenous spaces here nurtures mutual understanding and connection.”

"I feel inspired to encourage fellow Vincentians to explore the opportunities it creates, not just in education or investment, but for personal growth and cultural understanding.”

Sitting nearby was Eoghan, an Irish expat living in Hualien with his Taiwanese wife and their two children.

“I like the spectacle of it all, the colours, the music, the crowd,” he said. “It’s fun, and for a large gathering, it’s quite relaxed.”

He pointed out that most people in the West, much like in Taiwan, know very little about Indigenous communities. “How much do Americans know about North American Indigenous people?”

While Eoghan appreciates events like Mission Tribal, he doesn’t think they’re enough. Any foreigner serious about learning about Indigenous people should go to one of their villages and talk with people, he said.

Eoghan was in Hualien during the deadly 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck on April 3, 2024. “It was just before 9 in the morning. I was literally knocked to the ground,” he said.

He’s seen the earthquake’s economic aftershocks, too. “You can see the physical scarring of the mountains, and a lot of businesses have closed,” he noted, though he remains optimistic: “Hualianers — is that even a word? — are resilient. They’re getting over this.”


First Stop: Dajili Tribal House

Our first destination was the Dajili Tribal House, an airy stone and driftwood building nestled in the forest on the edge of Taroko National Park. It was built 20 years ago by retired Truku teacher Kuo Wen-Kuei and his wife, Peng Xiu-lan.

The Truku are one of Taiwan’s 16 recognized Indigenous groups, believed to have descended from the Atayal people. They migrated eastward over Taiwan’s central mountains and settled around the Liwu River in Hualien.

We came to learn about the culture of the Truku people, starting with one of their most important art forms: weaving.

At driftwood tables, our guide introduced us to the meanings behind the colours and geometric patterns of Truku woven bracelets representing animal teeth, berries, and the Truku people's sacred Rainbow Bridge, believed to be the spiritual pathway that the deceased cross to reach the ancestral afterlife. 

Brendon grinned beneath his crown of braids. “It’s just like braiding hair,” he said, easing into the rhythm of the activity. Once our bracelets were complete, the focus shifted to the next cornerstone of Truku culture: music.

Tribal beats and hidden messages

After weaving, we moved on to music. A large wooden drum and a xylophone made of beams were set up in the centre of the restaurant. In groups of three, we took turns playing a simple xylophone tune while others pounded the drum rhythmically.

Beyond performance, our guide explained, these instruments were historically used for communication — like sending messages such as “I caught a rabbit” or “Dinner’s ready.”


Face tattoos and afterlife beliefs

Next, we were introduced to Truku tattoo traditions. Children receive forehead tattoos with their family symbols at age 10. Later, boys who prove their hunting ability get chin tattoos, while girls who master weaving earn cheek tattoos.

While the practice waned under Japanese colonial rule (1895–1945), some revival efforts are underway. Outside the tribal house, I met Mohammad, an Indian post-grad at National Dong Hwa University, who has researched the Bunun tribe.

“Indigenous people hold deep ecological knowledge developed over generations. Learning from them enriches environmental education by introducing sustainable, place-based practices that challenge extractive and colonial models,” he told me.

Festival time

We boarded the bus again, heading to the Pacific Austronesian Indigenous Joint Harvest Festival.

Rain soaked the festival grounds, where poncho-clad visitors navigated stalls filled with the aroma of Indigenous street food — spicy sausages, sizzling BBQ, tacos, and iced fruit teas. After threading through the crowd, we were ushered to covered seats directly in front of the stage.

From our vantage point, performances unfolded: dancers from Taiwan's tribes like the Amis filled the stage, but the show-stealer was Cultural Ballet KARI KARI from Easter Island, lighting up the evening with tambora rhythms and ukulele hooks.

To close, the announcer invited everyone to join hands and dance to the festival’s theme tune, “Kayaten ko kamay ita” — “Let’s All Hold Hands.” Despite the rain, the crowd danced and swayed in circles, their feet squelching in the muddy grass.

As the vibrant, tropical rhythms filled the air, it was clear that Taiwan’s cultural identity stretches far beyond Han Chinese traditions. Watching the performances and the audience dancing in the rain reminded me how much of this richness remains hidden from most outsiders.

A new lens on Taiwan

Most of the evening, I sat next to Daniel, a 25-year-old Paraguayan student studying psychology at Dong Hwa University.

“It’s important to learn about Indigenous people, primarily because of the beauty of their cultures, but also because they model a much healthier relationship with nature than we have,” he said.

“We, the people of skyscrapers, have this ridiculous sense that plants and animals exist to serve us,” he added. “But Indigenous cultures are not exploitative; they are grateful. They recognize the obvious fact that we are part of nature.”

Daniel noted that the experience even deepened his appreciation for Indigenous cultures in his home country. Paraguay has two official languages, Spanish and Guarani, but the latter was once considered outdated.

“It was only after coming to Hualien and through my fascination with Austronesian culture that an interest in Amerindian cultures was finally kindled,” he said.

I’ll be back

As the train pulled out of Hualien, past flashes of ocean and mountain blurred by the rain-streaked window, I realized how much of Taiwan’s richness is hidden from international view, and even from residents who rarely venture beyond Taipei.

Mission: Tribal showed that Taiwan’s Indigenous communities are alive with stories, traditions, and a deep bond with nature, proof that the richest journeys are often found off the beaten path, along the road less traveled.