This is the "International Year of Native Peoples." As many individuals are taking closer looks at the problems of native peoples around the world, here in Taiwan there is a new vitality among the island's tribes, a vitality which is the subject of the following report.
The nine native tribes of Taiwan have for a long time been facing the onslaught of modernization. They have jumped quickly from tribal to modern ways of living, and the process of their integration has been full of all sorts of problems of adaption, including loss of traditional culture and confusion over identity.
Fortunately, over the last several years, some outstanding individuals from these tribes, after learning the rules of the "urban jungle," have realized that if their tribes are to revive, then there must be a "return to the tribe." In one respect they are giving their urban experience to the people of their tribes to prevent them from falling into the same traps, and in another respect they are also trying to get more of the members of their tribe to recognize their traditional culture and find a new place for themselves through it.
In addition, there is a report on the Shankuang Estate of Hsichih in Taipei County, which is a community dominated by the Ami people. They have come north from Hualien and Taitung and congregated here, forming a new kind of "tribal village." Although they are far from their tribal lands and may find it difficult to make ends meet, their mutual support makes the transition to modern life easier.