呂憶君, Yi-Chun LU
Assistant Researcher
National Museum of Prehistory
TAIWAN, Taitung
Dr. Yi-Chun LU holds her PhD degree in Anthropology from National Taiwan University. She is an assistant researcher at the National Museum of Prehistory in Taiwan. Her research areas are Taiwan indigenous studies (especially the Amis/Pangcah), material culture, museum and contemporary social issues.
Uncovering Indigenous Labour History—A Case Study of the Exhibition People of the Sea: Amis/Pangcah Indigenous High Seas Fishermen
The recently updated Taiwan Prehistory Hall and Austronesian Hall of the National Museum of Prehistory’s permanent exhibition mention that Taiwanese indigenous people have travelled between Taiwan and the rest of the Austronesian world via the sea from prehistory to the contemporary era, allowing for mutual exchanges and the building of relationships. The study of the spread and migration of Austronesian people is now a topic of focus in a number of fields. However, with the rapid changes in Taiwanese society since the end of World War II, the history of Taiwanese indigenous people involved in high seas fishing has remained relatively undocumented. The exhibition People of the Sea: Amis/Pangcah Indigenous High Seas Fishermen is aimed at informing people about the experiences and contributions of Taiwanese indigenous people to Taiwan’s fishing industry since becoming part of the capitalist labour market, their experiences of connection with the world, and the related significance.
Taiwan’s economy began a quick ascent in the 1960s, and the capitalist labour market required a large amount of human resources. As a result, many Taiwanese indigenous people moved from their rural home communities to the cities, living on the periphery of mainstream society, to improve their financial states. In the 1980s, they became the main source of labour behind the fishing industry, accounting for one-third of the high seas fishing workforce. Of them, the majority were Amis/Pangcah from Hualien and Taitung, the east coast of Taiwan, a phenomenon closely related to the importance of the ocean in their traditional culture.
To present the history of Taiwanese indigenous people’s participation in the high seas fishing industry that has been largely ignored, this study looks at the planning process for the abovementioned exhibition. I collected historical documents and objects, conducted interviews, contemplated the subjectivity of indigenous people and gender within the exhibition narrative, and reflected on how the curator worked with the indigenous community and the design team. With the plight of survival of Taiwanese indigenous high seas fishermen as the focus, the study looks at the four sections of the exhibition (“Leaving Home for the High Seas”, “Dawn and Darkness on the Sea,” “Unrevealed Feelings”, and “The High Seas in Music and Performance Art”) to present the global status of Taiwan’s high seas fishing industry, the lives of those who made their living off the sea, the influence on the fishermen’s families, and how music and other works of performance art transmit the feelings and thoughts indigenous people have on the high seas fishing industry.
Austronesian people, indigenous labour history, high seas fishing industry, exhibition design