Study of Indigenous Subjectivity Law and Its Formation | SOAS University of London
Channel: SOAS University of London
Date: 2019-03-11

Study of Indigenous Subjectivity Law and Its Formation: Approach on Indigenous Jurisprudence is a lecture given by Dr. Awi Mona (Chih-Wei Tsai) at the Centre of Taiwan Studies, SOAS University of London on 10 July 2018. Find out more at http://bit.ly/2CeY5l8
Taiwan’s Indigenous Laws are embedded with two basic theory and principle. One is cultural integrity and self-government, and another is effective participation. Comprehensively speaking, the cores of Indigenous Peoples Basic Act were constructed upon the concepts of “indigenous peoples” and “tribal community (alang)”. Tribal community is the center of indigenous lives and cultures; also, it is the traditional governance unit. However, none of the existing and implementing laws and regulations has clear definition which applicable to tribal community. Thus, the nature and content of indigenous subjectivity laws need to be clarified. Based on the aforementioned, how to position and construct indigenous subjectivity laws and its formations would soon to be an important legal issue. Additionally, this research takes the stand of indigenous jurisprudence with a comparative study approach, which aims at the subjectivity laws’ constructions for tribal community. Furthermore, this research incorporates domestic and international legal framework and practical experiences, to probe into the following research questions: Whether the existing legal design on indigenous tribal community, corresponding to the cultural conceptualization of traditional tribal governance, in conformity with constitutional entrenched value of cultural diversity. In sum, how to construct indigenous cultural-based tribal governance and external relationships?

Speaker Bio
Dr. Awi Mona (Chih-Wei Tsai)

Associate Professor of Law and Indigenous Studies, National Dong Hwa University
Director, Research Center for Indigenous Education, National Academy for Educational Research
Convener, Presidential Office Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee, Subcommittee on Land Claims
Dr. Awi Mona (Chih-Wei Tsai) is the first indigenous person in the country obtained a Doctorate degree in Law. His research is primarily in the areas of Indigenous law, Aboriginal Title law, and cultural law. Over the past decade since his return from Seattle, he has continuously worked extensive collaborative on indigenous rights movements with local communities in Taiwan, as well as providing legal and policy advice on a wide variety of Indigenous law and related issues. Awi is a member of the Seediq Nation.