Museums, heritage and the politics of pursuing indigenous rights in Taiwan

The purpose of this paper is to trace the development of indigenous heritage rights in Taiwan. It examines how this pursuit is intertwined with the global indigenous movement, national political interests and rising local cultural awareness.

This paper focuses on the rise of indigenous rights in Taiwan by looking at political shifts, indigenous museums and changing frameworks through which heritage is understood. The paper uses two case studies: one is the implementation of a heritage protection law in Taiwan; the other is the launch of indigenous museums.

In Taiwan, heritage is often associated with political ideology, power relations and resource distribution. The development of heritage discourse is inseparable from the international heritage trend as well as the local political situation.

The pursuit of indigenous heritage rights in Taiwan is supported on the one hand by the government so as to define a distinctive Taiwanese culture and on the other to meet the demands of Taiwan’s indigenous movement. Two case studies are provided to examine the pros and cons of current indigenous heritage projects in Taiwan.