| This Wednesday, in our
World Culture class, Dr. Murphy invited the guests from the
Ami tribe. They introduced some of their history and custom to us and they taught us their songs and dance for festival. I found their voice are quite beautiful and they are very active and friendly. They showed us a very health and postive image for their tribe. I enjoyed their singing and was attracted by their tradition. They are going to have a series of festivals for good harvest since July. I think it's a good opportunity and experience to join them. They must be very friendly to their guests. As times goes by, the issue of the indigenous people in Taiwan is getting more and more important. They indigenous people have the right to ask for an equal status in society and to preserve their own culture,and the government should help them. There are many problems for them. Like the textbook mentioned, the insufficient for the land and too many reserved lands, the unemployment, the lost of the mother tongue, the sense of inferiority, the self-identity, education, and the reconstruction of their tribal name, etc. Besides, for Orchid Island, the Yami people had to suffer from the threat of the nuclear waste before. It is because that the government didn't pay attention to what Orchid Island people thought and felt. It is unfair to them. AS the problem of making Orchid Island a national park, the government should put the indigenous people's feelings into first consideration. The government shouldn't insist on it if the indigenous people in Orchid Island don't agreet with it. If Orchid Island becomes a national park or a tourist spot in the future, what will be left for the indigenous people? Maybe, it will be lots of garbage and damage to nature. And, nobody will like to be looked at and observed as an object in the exhibition. So, the government should be considerate enough to hear "the voice from the margin". Although it is difficult to strike a banlance
between tourism and cultural preservation,
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