For over a decade, I have been doing research with Truku, Tkedaya, and Teuda people in Taiwan. I say doing research with, rather than about, indigenous people, because my philosophy is that
research is a collaborative effort that includes the choice of topic, methods, collection of information and stories, and, to the extent possible, diffusion of research results. Yet, a
professor’s work is more than research. In fact, the most public part of our jobs is teaching undergraduate students. This year, in spite of the great distance from Canada to Taiwan, I was able
to fulfill a long-held dream: to teach indigenous studies in Taiwan with the same indigenous knowledge holders who have so generously nourished my research for so long.
