Indigenous Taroko community elder Huang Chang-hsing has published a book documenting his community’s migration history and traditions. The launch of his book falls on the 20th anniversary of the Taroko people gaining official government recognition. Huang now hopes his work will help younger generations connect with their roots.
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00:0086-year-old Huang Changxing has been on a mission to document centuries of indigenous
00:05history.
00:06He has spent 10 years investigating the migration paths of Dlugu communities in northeastern
00:10Taiwan.
00:11In April, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit the region, damaging much of the area's infrastructure
00:17and isolating remote mountain communities.
00:20But since then, Huang has resumed his trips into the mountains, leading groups of indigenous
00:25Dlugu youths on expeditions to retrace hunting trails their ancestors left behind.
00:30I have been in this area for 10 years, and I have dispatched more than 180 people, one
00:37tribe after another, to investigate.
00:39And all the tribes and living places have accurate GPS records.
00:47Huang comes from the Wenlan group in Xiuling Township.
00:50He says he's always felt a sense of responsibility to his community.
00:53He compiled 10 years of his survey data into his book, so future generations can draw from
00:58his work.
00:59And his efforts have not gone unnoticed by his fellow community members.
01:03I have spent a lot of time and effort to excavate 192 sites in this village, and 124 sites in
01:14Wanrong Village.
01:16The Dlugu people were once classified as part of the Dayan Indigenous Ethnic Group.
01:28But 20 years ago, the community successfully campaigned to have the government recognize
01:32them as one of Taiwan's distinct indigenous peoples.
01:35And Huang's book continues the work of advocating for, and preserving, the Dlugu identity.
01:46Our nation is not just a name.
01:48It's its content.
01:49It's how we find our way back to our world, our sites, our language, and all our areas of life.
01:58Huang's book explores traditional Dlugu hunting practices and recounts the community's resistance
02:03to Japanese colonization.
02:05He says his work could be used as a textbook.
02:08More than that, he hopes it will make it easier for future generations of Dlugu youth to connect
02:13with their roots and take pride in their heritage.
02:16James Lin and Wesley Lewis for Taiwan Plus.