This paper analyzes the Indigenous Language Drama
Competition through the lens of David Easton’s political systems theory,
situating the event within the broader dynamics of state-led cultural policy
and local governance in an Indigenous Rukai community (K tribe) that relocated
to a permanent housing settlement after Typhoon Morakot in 2009. Using
qualitative methods — including participant observation, informal interviews,
and document analysis — the study investigates how policy inputs, conversion
processes, and outputs interact across three levels: the central government,
local government, and community actors.
The Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) promotes the
competition as a strategy to transmit endangered languages, requiring regional
teams to participate. Local governments frame the initiative as both a cultural
preservation measure and a performance indicator, seeking to enhance visibility
and policy legitimacy. Within the community, tribal leaders and language
teachers mobilize teams to align with policy directives, while residents join
primarily out of cultural identity and emotional attachment. However, the
process is shaped by three structural constraints: (1) generational gaps in
language proficiency and fading cultural memory; (2) a governance model heavily
dependent on government resources; and (3) concentration of power among a few
local leaders, including the village chief, health station head, and community
association officials.
The conversion process reveals multiple frictions.
Information distortion undermines coordination between central goals and local
execution. Dual authority structures — between tribal and external leadership —
generate conflicting commands. Some participants join involuntarily,
highlighting tensions between community autonomy and policy compliance.
Furthermore, the competition’s core values become blurred, with political
correctness influencing scriptwriting. These factors culminated in a
performance themed on Typhoon Morakot, adapted to fit institutional expectations,
which secured a second-place award.
The outputs of the policy intervention are thus
double-edged. On the positive side, the event increased the village’s cultural
visibility and fostered collective confidence, providing a rare occasion for
public recognition and language use in a performative setting. On the negative
side, the scripted representation neglected the community’s own memories of the
disaster, raising doubts about the authenticity and sincerity of
institutionalized cultural activities.
By applying David Easton’s Political System model,
this study demonstrates that cultural policy implementation in Indigenous
contexts cannot be understood solely as a unidirectional flow from central
authority to grassroots compliance. Rather, it involves a cyclical exchange in
which environmental conditions, actor agency, and feedback loops shape both
process and outcomes. The findings suggest that while top-down initiatives
like the Indigenous Language Drama Competition can yield measurable
preservation outcomes and enhance symbolic capital, they risk undermining
cultural subjectivity if they prioritize administrative performance over lived
experience.
The paper argues for a recalibration of cultural policy toward a hybrid governance model that integrates institutional efficiency with respect for local autonomy, memory, and identity. Such an approach would better align state objectives with community aspirations, fostering not only language revitalization but also genuine cultural resilience in post-disaster, relocated Indigenous communities.
