EXCHANGE: Academics and policymakers met to discuss cultural
preservation, identity and rights issues, as well as to
further explore Taiwan-Canada Aboriginal relations
STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Saturday, Dec 05, 2009, Page 2
A conference on Canada's Metis tribe opened in Hualien
yesterday to promote exchanges and understanding of the two
countries' indigenous cultures.
The conference, hosted by the Canadian Trade Office in
Taipei, National Dong Hwa University and the Council of
Indigenous Peoples (CIP), discussed cultural preservation
and other issues involving the identity and the rights of
the Metis, with the participation of two special guests from
Canada — Clement Chartier, president of Canada's Metis
National Council, and Frank Tough, a professor of Native
Studies at the University of Alberta.
The Metis are descended from intermarriages between Cree,
Ojibway, Algonquin, Saulteaux, Menominee, Mi'kmaq, Maliseet
and Europeans, mainly French. It is estimated that there are
350,000 to 400,000 Metis in Canada, comprising about 1
percent of its population.
“This conference will offer a new opportunity for academics
and policymakers to explore Canada-Taiwan Aboriginal
relations, as well as provide conference participants with a
deeper understanding of one of Canada's three officially
recognized Aboriginal peoples,” Canadian Trade Office
Executive Director Scott Fraser said.
Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒),
dean of Dong Hwa University's College of Indigenous Studies,
said Taiwan’s Pingpu — assimilated Aborigines living on
Taiwan's plains — share similarities with the Metis and he
expressed hope that the conference would open a new window
of exchanges in Aboriginal studies between Taiwan and
Canada.
Chartier and Tough were scheduled to visit Pingpu
communities in Kaohsiung and Tainan counties to better
understand the contemporary Pingpu experience as it relates
to cultural preservation, the Canadian office said.
Taiwan has about 490,000 Aborigines, making up about 2
percent of the nation’s population, the CPI said. There are
14 officially recognized tribes — the Amis, Atayal, Paiwan,
Bunun, Puyuma, Rukai, Tsou, Saisiat, Yami, Thao, Kavalan,
Truku, Sakizaya and Sedeq, each with their own distinct
language, culture, customs, traditions and social
structures.
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