Finding Home at Tides End

In the Amis language, a moment signifies peace and a sense of ‘home’ when the ocean calms. This metaphorically relates to the journey of a group of Amis people who left their coastal homes in the 1970s for city work. In Taipei, they established the “Xizhou Tribe” near a riverbank, contributing to urban development but ultimately facing displacement. This dichotomy highlights the choices they made: some stayed in cities, while others returned to ancestral lands. Decades later, as they completed new houses, their story reflects a deeper narrative of indigenous urbanization—a crossroads of starting anew or enduring broken connections with their past and identity.