May 3, 2022—Icyang‧Parod, Minister of the Commission of Indigenous Peoples (CIP), presided over the unveiling ceremony and official inauguration of the Project Management Center for the Construction of Indigenous Education and Cultural Knowledge Systems at National Dong Hwa University today. The Minister expressed hope that the construction of Taiwan's indigenous knowledge systems will progress smoothly.  

A group of Sikawasay from the Amis Lidaw tribe was invited to the unveiling to conduct the miwahelik (cleansing and removing the impure) ritual and pray for the blessings of the ancestral spirits to ensure the success of the Project Management Center and its team members. The National Dong Hwa University College of Indigenous Studies dance troupe also performed at the ceremony, offering blessings to all attendees.  

According to Minister Icyang, the purpose of establishing the Project Management Center for the Construction of Indigenous Education and Cultural Knowledge Systems is to create a framework for indigenous knowledge and its classification in Taiwan, conduct an inventory of documents and files related to indigenous knowledge, and build an exclusive indigenous cloud service platform that is accessible to the public.

       Minister Icyang noted that Article 5 of the revised Education Act for Indigenous Peoples promulgated on June 19, 2019 stipulates that the indigenous authority of the central government shall consult with the competent education, science and technology, and cultural affairs agencies to formulate medium-and long-term plans on the development of indigenous knowledge systems, while actively providing incentives for academic research on indigenous peoples and their tribes, so as to promote and strengthen indigenous knowledge systems.

As part of the medium- and long-term plan, the CIP has entrusted National Dong Hwa University with the Project Management Center for the Construction of Indigenous Education and Cultural Knowledge Systems. The project is led by Professor Chung-Shan Shih, dean of the College of Indigenous Studies, together with an interdisciplinary team of thirty-two scholars and experts in indigenous studies, education, information technology, and law, as well as principals of experimental schools, who will be responsible for administrative management, knowledge construction, course applications, systems development, and legal consultation based on their respective areas of expertise.

In addition to the Project Management Center, Minister Icyang highlighted the fact that on April 11 the CPI approved funding for the establishment of indigenous knowledge research centers for eight indigenous tribes—the Atayal, Bunun, Sediq, Puyuma, Rakai, Tsou, Hla'alua, and Kanakanavu tribes—at National Chengchi University, Providence University, National Chi Nan University, National Taitung University, National Kaohsiung Normal University, National Sun Yat-sen University, and National Chung Cheng University. Minister Icyang hopes that the unveiling ceremony will serve to encourage the Project Management Center and other indigenous knowledge research organizations to collaborate on the construction of indigenous knowledge systems of all of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples.