Ciyakang Indigenous Archaeology Project

Since the 1980s, archaeology is deeply connected with politics. The social groups that were ruled or marginalized attempted to reclaim ownership to their land, sacred remains and legal rights through movements tracing their past. This reflects the long-term struggles between western archaeological science sand Indigenous communities, and how archaeological knowledge is challenged by contemporary society, questioning its value. Thus, archaeologists started to re-examine the colonial context of their theory, methodology and practices, that gave birth Indigenous Archaeology. In order to break down barriers between communities, archaeologists shifted from top-down academic research- oriented attitude to adopt approaches to negotiate and mend the previous troubled relationships between archaeologists and communities. The aim is to employ interdisciplinary research methods and indigenous traditional knowledge on the equal basis to work out the contemporary and sustainable values of the cultural heritage. Since Taiwan’s martial law was lifted in the 1980s, local historical discourses have gradually received more attention ; meanwhile, indigenous communities are active in movements of political empowerment, name rectification, environment, and cultural revitalization. In recent years, indigenous communities have continued to face the archaeological disputes of rights to land, traditional territories, the return of cultural relics and remains, and the subjectivity of culture and history. In response to the disputes between the preservation of the Ciyakang site and the land rights of the Taroko people, this project proposes the social practice of " Indigenous Archaeology" and the action plan of the " Ciyakang Initiative". Therefore, practicing indigenous archaeology will help reducing longterm value conflicts and power imbalances between archaeology and indigenous communities.