臺灣文學虛擬博物館

⧉ Celebration for a good harvest of millet
（Photo by Husluman Vava / Kept in National Museum of Taiwan Literature）

Taiwan is the origin of Austronesian cultures. There are currently 16 recognized indigenous tribes in Taiwan, totaling over 580,000 people, accounting for 2.47% of Taiwan's population. 

As Han people immigrated to Taiwan in the 16th century, Taiwanese indigenous peoples were forced to move into the mountains. From 1895 to 1945, when the island was under Japanese colonial governance, policies dictated that indigenous peoples relocate again from the mountains to lower lands. After the end of World War II, the national government of the Republic of China moved to Taiwan in 1949. The implementation of the National Language Policy pushed local languages to the verge of extinction. Doubly exploited by Han immigrants and colonial rulers, indigenous land, languages, cultures, and population gradually declined.

Through the indigenous movements in the 1980s and the more recent discussions of transitional justice for indigenous peoples, mainstream society in Taiwan has gradually begun to understand and respect ethnic differences. Taiwanese indigenous peoples have also started to contemplate their own ethnic identities and the revitalization of their traditional cultures.