Taiwan Journal of Indigenous Studies (TJIS)

The development of indigenous studies in Taiwan has always been characterized by the construction of the "Other" and the lack of a subjective knowledge system under the hegemony of colonial knowledge. The College of Indigenous Studies of National Dong Hwa University was founded in August 2001 with the aim of cultivating indigenous talents and elites in higher education, and became the only academic institution in Taiwan that takes the world's indigenous peoples as the subject of teaching, research, and development. In addition to cultivating talents, another important task of the College is to build a knowledge system based on Taiwan's indigenous peoples. When indigenous people use their subjective experience as a way to construct knowledge, we must first interpret and construct as well as deconstruct the discourses of "hegemony" and "anti-hegemony. By questioning the value of mainstream discourses, we can further place the traditional values, ecological wisdom, historical culture, etc., defined and presented by Taiwan's indigenous peoples as the main body in the dominant position of knowledge. Looking at the indigenous education sectors and institutions in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other countries, they all guide the construction of indigenous knowledge systems based on their local experience with their core values. The College should also actively promote the combination of indigenous scholars and scholars who pay attention to issues related to indigenous peoples, develop research on Taiwan's indigenous peoples as the core values, and aim to build an indigenous knowledge system in Taiwan.