Ep 113 | Tony Coolidge Talks About his Work with Indigenous Bridges

Jan 25, 2021

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A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

This is part two of my interview with 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 his work with Indigenous Bridges through his nonprofit, the Atayal organization, and shares his perspectives on some of indigenous people he’s interacted with from around the world.

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

The work of Indigenous Bridges
Why Tony moved back to Taiwan in 2009
How Indigenous Bridges serves to connect indigenous people from all over the world
How the mission of the Atayal organization shifted from sharing the culture of indigenous people to connecting indigenous people with each other
How Indigenous Bridges is about building trusted relationships based on shared cultures and cultural exchange
The sister city relationship between Orlando, Florida and Tainan, Taiwan
Sister tribe programs that are being developed
The indigenous youth ambassador program of Indigenous Bridges
Virtual cultural exchanges and conferences that are now being developed due to the onset of COVID-19
The common experiences and challenges of indigenous people
Possible solutions to the economic hardship that is often experienced by indigenous people around the world
How the rights of indigenous people in the U.S. compares to Taiwan and other parts of the world
The connection between the Maori indigenous people of New Zealand and the indigenous people of Taiwan
The migration of Austronesian people and how they originated from Taiwan
What Tony learned from the Maori indigenous people of New Zealand
How the Maori are a source of pride for New Zealand
The government’s role in preserving indigenous culture
How indigenous rights are protected by the United Nations and indigenous people can create treaties with each other
The struggles in trying to return property to the indigenous people of Taiwan
How the recognition of tribes gives them access to resources
The fight over resources between the different indigenous people of Taiwan
How Tony hopes that his work reveals that Taiwan is a far more diverse and interesting place than people have originally thought
How former President Lee Teng-hui’s role in changing the perception of indigenous people in Taiwan
Tony’s experience representing indigenous people at the UN headquarters in New York