Indigenous Style Guides

Writing about Indigenous issues in English can be tricky, since the language we use continues to change in response to ongoing social movements. For this reason it helps to consult Indigenous style guides on proper usage. Note that not all the guidelines may agree. Some of this may be due to differences in English usage, different colonial histories, or simply personal differences as well. For this reason it is best to consult all the guides as well as the specific group of people you are writing about to ask for advice.

The guides

• A Copy Editor’s Education in Indigenous Style
• Indigenous Peoples terminology guidelines for usage
• Elements of Indigenous Style
• Indigenous Peoples Language Guidelines
• Academic Citations Evolve to Include Indigenous Oral Teachings
• Citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers
• Think Before You Appropriate: A guide for creators and designers

How to Write about Indigenous Taiwanese in English?

This is an ever-evolving guide, as my own thinking continues to change in response to feedback from Indigenous peoples in Taiwan and abroad. Because most of the discussion about this topic is in Chinese, there exist few explicit guides for those writing in English. (This is why it is useful to consult the style guides written by Indigenous peoples in English speaking countres, liste above.) Check back regularly for updates, and don’t be upseet if you publish something only to find that the page has changed afterwards!

• Do not use the former term “Aborigine” in any of its forms. Indigneous Taiwanese have changed the official English names of their own institutions to reflect their preferred English translation and we should respect that. (Unfortunately, some English language sources, like the Taipei Times, refuse to change, making it seem like the older usage is more acceptable than it is.)
• Capitalize “Indigneous”
  • This is something agreed upon by almost every English language style guide. - See related discussions for why people capitalize “Black” but not “white”:
    • The Discussion on Capitalizing the ‘B’ in ‘Black’ Continues | HuffPost
    • Recognizing Race in Language: Why We Capitalize “Black” and “White” | Center for the Study of Social Policy
    • Time to Capitalize ‘Black’—And ‘White’ - The Atlantic
    • A Debate Over Identity and Race Asks, Are African-Americans ‘Black’ or ‘black’? - The New York Times
• Only use “tribe” when referring to government policy and when “tribe” is the official translation of the term of law or policy being discussed.
  • What to do instead?
    • Whenever possible I simply write the name of the ethnic group without any qualifier. - When necessary I write “ethnic group.”
    • I’m personally undecided about the use of “nation,” or “First Nations” (第一民族), since the term is aspirational in Taiwan (unlike Canada where it is a term of law), and such aspirations are not shared by all Indigenous Taiwanese. (I fully support the struggle for Indigenous sovereignty and their elevation to “nation” status, I just don’t think they have it yet in Taiwan and I believe the English should reflect this.)
    • This is very much a personal preference, but I like to say “Indigenous Taiwanese” whenever possible, not “Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples” or “Taiwan’s Indigenous ethnic groups.” I feel that it sounds a little more respectful and less like the clinical/scientific language of ethnographic textbooks. (See above about why I don’t write “Taiwan’s Indigenous nations” or “tribes.”)
    • Note, however, that it can be confused with the term “Native Taiwanese” which often refers to the Hoklo and Hakka speaking Han population of Taiwan. Even worse, these groups are sometimes referred to in English as “Indigenous”! To clarify things I sometimes use “Austronesian speaking” as a modifier, but this is less than ideal since many no longer speak Austronesian languages…
• “Buluo” 部落
  • I tend to leave this as “buluo” though some people translate it as “community.” - I don’t use “village” because a single buluo can be smaller or larger than a village, depending.
  • See my 2018 paper for a longer discussion.
• Pangcah/Amis
  • I don’t use “Ami” which is antequated
  • Generally I use “Pangcah” when talking about Hualien and “Amis” when talking about Taitung, but make a note the first time I use the term that the other is also accepted. - Because the Chinese is “Ameizu” 阿美族 Amis is often seen as a more natural translatin, but when speaking Pangcah, “Pangcah” is used more often in the North, and “Amis” in the South, although there is considerable variation, so one should be attuned to the use of one’s interlocutors. - 16 “officially recognized” ethnic groups
  • Always acknowledge that there are additional groups seeking recognition and that there is a gap between the recognized population and the total population of Indigenous Taiwanese. By using the modifier “officially recognized” one helps make this clear.