Indigenous Taipei

Yes you read that right: Indigenous people in what is now called Taipei City. This includes of course Indigenous folks who have moved from other parts of Taiwan to the capital for study and for work, and that topic is a worthy one. But that’s not what this thread is about: it’s about the complex histories of Indigenous people here who have weathered the storms of multiple layers of colonization (Spanish, Dutch, Qing, and Japanese) and waves of settler arrivals, primarily from Fujian.

The great Han Cheung starts us off with an illuminating column on the Kipatau Indigenous people in what is now called Beitou. This is the first in a series of columns on this topic; I’ll post follow up links when I can.

Stories of these people will also be part of an upcoming exhibit at the Cube Gallery in Gongguan. I can’t wait to see it.

Guy

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Some details on the aforementioned exhibit, on from November 22, 2025 to January 11, 2026 at the Cube.

https://thecubespace.com/project/2025treetreetreeperson-en/

This exhibit brings the Indigenous community of Taroko Skadang (hit hard by the massive 2024 earthquake in Hualien) in a conversation with the Kipatauw. It’s an ambitious project to take on, especially in such a compact gallery space. How to bring rural Indigenous and urban Indigenous communities and histories into dialogue?

Guy

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