Ep 112 | Tony Coolidge: Finding his Indigenous Roots in Taiwan

Jan 18, 2021

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A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Did you know that there are 16 indigenous tribes officially recognized in Taiwan and up to 29 self-identified tribes? Also, Taiwan’s current President Tsai Ing-wen’s paternal grandmother was from the Paiwan tribe.

My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Tony Coolidge. Tony is the Founder of the Atayal organization, which is named after his mother’s indigenous tribe. In this interview Tony talks about finding his indigenous roots and the indigenous people of Taiwan. This is part one of a two part interview.

In part two of our interview, Tony will talk about his work with Indigenous Bridges through his nonprofit, the Atayal organization.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

How Tony discovered his indigenous roots
Tony memories of his mother and the lessons she taught him
Tony’s mother’s connection to Taiwan and her indigenous roots
The first time that Tony visited Taiwan and met his mother’s family
Tony’s mother’s village Wulai
The documentary film that was made about Tony’s month-long trip to Taiwan with his brother during which time he met with several indigenous peoples and learned more about the culture
Tony’s mother’s struggles as an indigenous person and why she may have hidden her indigenous background from him
The pressure that Tony’s grandfather (his mother’s father, who was the chief/mayor of Wulai) had to show allegiance to the Chinese under the Kuomintang regime
How the indigenous peoples’ identity was suppressed under the Kuomintang regime and led to discrimination and abuse of indigenous people
The discrimination that indigenous people faced under the rule of the Kuomintang and Japanese
How the discrimination and abuse of indigenous people has changed over time
Tony’s desire to preserve indigenous culture
How policies of former President of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian and the changing attitudes of the media contributed to changing people views of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan
Some key facts about the Atayal tribe (that Tony’s mother belonged to)
The mountainous and lowland indigenous tribes of Taiwan
How many indigenous tribes are presently recognized in Taiwan
The story of how the Atayal tribe’s custom of headhunting was ended
How Tony’s sons are learning the Atayal language
Tony started his nonprofit organization in 2001
In 2004 Tony’s nonprofit had its first indigenous cultural festival in Orlando, Florida
Alice the teacher of indigenous cultures that Tony met in 2004 and how she was instrumental in arranging the trip during which much of the documentary about Tony’s life was filmed
Tony’s trip to Taiwan in December 2004- January 2005 with his brother and the documentary film crew
How the trip to Taiwan affected Tony’s brother
How the death of Tony’s father-in-law happened in the middle of the trip and film
The challenges that Tony and his brother faced during the trip
The similarities and differences amongst Taiwan’s indigenous tribes
How the lives of indigenous peoples changed overnight when the Japanese removed them from their villages in the mountains
How have the indigenous peoples of Taiwan have adjusted over time
Social issues facing young indigenous peoples
The story of an indigenous policeman, Sakino who created a hunting, survival club through with he passed down indigenous knowledge
The most memorable moments of Tony’s 2004 trip to Taiwan
The abandoned village in the mountains (in Pintung) that Tony visited in the documentary film
How the 16 tribes now recognized in Taiwan were mostly originally mountainous tribes because the lowland tribes have been assimilated so long ago
Research has shown that more than 70% of Taiwanese have some indigenous DNA