Indigenous Meets Indigenous: Reflections on Being an Indigenous
A Reflection to Commemorate Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. Before coming to Taiwan, I did not expect Taiwan to be where I would reconnect so much with my home culture, Hawai’i. Throughout this year in Taiwan as a TEFL Advisor, I found that some of my experiences as a young Hawaiian girl were also felt by others 5,200 miles across the Pacific Ocean. The views I have seen growing up and the mixed traditions I have lived share a similar thread with those here. Memories such as comparing pictures of our flower garlands (lei po’o in Hawaiian and aputr in Puyuma language) with a coworker from the Puyuma tribe… Meeting a stranger from the Amis tribe who gave me a honi, a kiss on the left cheek as a greeting… Walking around and seeing wooden canoes, beautifully woven artifacts, shells, feathers, and plants as jewelry, patterned body tattoos, vibrant colors, the moai (megaliths also found in Rapa Nui), the taro patches… Hearing a familiar language on the local train that sounds very similar to my mother’s native language from the Philippines… Seeing preservation and revitalization efforts of the indigenous languages and cultures here… Stumbling upon so many pieces
