This catalogue is published in conjunction with an exhibition of the same title held from September 2009 to January 2010 at Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts. The third in the exhibition series 'Contemporary Austronesian Art Project', this show brings together representative works of 11 contemporary indigenous artists from Taiwan and other Pacific islands. It aims to explore the cultural identity and artistic pursuit of of these artists who embody the keen intelligence with which Austronesian cultures regard their universe. Each artist can be seen as narrating a personal struggle to find and reclaim his or her ancestral heritage and inspiration.

Taiwanese artists participating in the exhibition are from four indigenous tribes: Atayal, Amis, Paiwan and Sediq. With the wish to share the content of the exhibition with their tribes' members who may not understand or read Chinese, some content is translated into these four languages in phonetic form in the 'Sound of the Tribal Village' section in the catalogue. Artist biographies as well as information on the museum's 2009 Resident Artists Program are included.

Please note that only the names of Taiwanese artists are listed below. Participating artists from other Pacific islands include Virginia King, Lisa Reihana, Shane Cotton, Michel Tuffery, Greg Semu, and Daniel Waswas.