The latest exhibition at the National Museum of Taiwan Literature is built around the issue of transitional justice for Taiwan's indigenous peoples, bringing together storytelling and song to cover the themes of land rights, languages and cultures, semantics of names, subversion of history, and inheritance of songs.
Since 2016, the government has launched several projects dedicated to indigenous transitional justice, including the Executive Yuan's recent draft bill aimed at restoring justice and rights for Taiwan's indigenous peoples.
In view of this, the National Museum of Taiwan Literature has launched an exhibition exploring indigenous transitional justice, using the works of contemporary Taiwanese indigenous authors to guide the way in thinking about related issues:
- Salizan Takisvilainan Islituan's satirical poem "Letter of Consent for Village Relocation," which explores the topic of justice for the loss of traditional settlements and hunting grounds;
- Neqou Soqluman's essay "The Legend of Mother Beans," which showcases the linguistic richness of the Bunun language and uses this as a springboard for reflecting on the dilemmas posed by the loss of indigenous languages;
- Walis Nokan's poetry collection "Atayal," which uses the wishes and blessings of the writer's own father to highlight the culture that is lost as traditional names are stripped away;
- and Badai's tale of looking for a gun in the novel "Sorceress Diguwan," which seems at first glance to be a fantastical story of witchcraft but turns out to be an implicit flipped interpretation of history.
Several professors of indigenous literature participated in the planning of this special exhibition, helping supplant the usual exposition with narratives that incorporate pertinent issues. Images, documentaries, and cross-generational indigenous songs tie the themes of the various sections together while also letting indigenous creators speak on the fates of their tribal groups.
The exhibition also has on display important publications, writings, and chronologies pertaining to the development of indigenous literature, reflecting the development and rise of literary publishing, presenting the efforts of indigenous peoples to regain their right of self-interpretation, and highlighting indigenous rights movements in countries such as New Zealand and Canada to reflect on the future of Taiwan's own movement.
The aim of the exhibition is to provoke the public into contemplating the necessity of transitional justice for the indigenous population of Taiwan. The exhibition will run from May 18, 2018 through March 10, 2019.
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature welcomes everyone to experience the beauty of indigenous literature and join the movement in securing a future of reconciliation and harmonious co-existence.
A smaller-scale version of this exhibition is being concurrently held at the newly opened Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park.
‘Special Exhibition on Indigenous Literature and Transitional Justice’
- Date: May 18, 2018 – March 10, 2019
- Venue: National Museum of Taiwan Literature
- Address: No. 1 Zhongzheng Road, West Central District, Tainan City, Taiwan (ROC)
- Site: www.nmtl.gov.tw