Our land, our voice

On 23rd December 2011, a group of Amis Aborigines from Makutaay, administratively known as Gangkou Village (港口), in Fengbin Township (豐濱), Hualien County, protested over the seizure of their tribal land, bringing serious  allegations against the government. In1973, the government began forcing aborigines of Makutaay to lease the land from National Property Administration; this land originally belonged to the aborigines.

Following 1988, when Hualien County Government announced that plots of land could be registered as aboriginal reserve land, the aborigines of Makutaay flocked to Fongbin Township Office to submit applications. However, in 1993, the National Property Administration shifted land ownership to the East Coast National Scenic Area Administration without a compensation deal, sparking protests among the Makutaay aborigines. The government agency apologized, but insisted that unfortunately no application data had been retained, and as a result there was nothing they could do; the event sparked a fire that has been smoldering ever since.

Makutaay aborigines said: "The mountains are our warehouse, the sea is our icebox”. This group of aborigines has deep cultural and emotional ties with the land. During this traditional ceremony the tribal people believe they communicate with ancestral spirits. However, after the police released a statement saying that the aborigines had overstepped the mark for lawful congregations and banned the event, a showdown between the police and Makutaay aborigines seemed imminent. The activity finished with aborigines planting seedlings as a symbol of their determination to fight for their land and the preservation of Makutaay cultural heritage.
Today, more than a year later, the struggle goes on.

Our land, our voice
URL:http://www.peopo.org/news/108272

我們的土地 我們的聲音

2011年12月23日是花蓮縣豐濱鄉，港口部落發起抗爭活動的日子，他們以「還我傳統領域」為主要訴求，並且對政府提出嚴厲的指控。1973年開始，港口部落的族人必須向國有財產局承租原本屬於自己的土地。直到1988年，花蓮縣政府公告原住民原居土地編劃為保留地，隔年族人陸續向豐濱鄉鄉公所申請。但到了1993年，國有財產局卻將土地無償撥用給東部海岸國家風景區管理處，而族人向政府機關抗議時，政府機關卻以「申請資料查無留存，敬請諒達」來應付，此事件為日後埋下導火線。

港口部落的族人說：「山是我們的倉庫，海是我們的冰箱」，他們是一群有文化，並對這個土地有感情的人，抗爭過程中，港口部落的族人認為他們在進行傳統儀式，他們在與祖靈溝通，但警方卻認為他們跨越了集會申請地，進而取締，警民一度衝突。在活動的最後，港口部落也準備了種苗讓族人栽種，象徵著他們對爭取土地以及傳統領的決心能夠延續下去。

到現在已經一年多過去了，相關的抗爭還在進行中。

為擴大服務範圍，自2010年4月起，PeoPo每周精選三則公民報導及相關活動與發展，翻譯成英文摘要，讓更多關心台灣公民新聞的朋友，瞭解台灣在地大小事。