Post-Disaster Reconstruction of Alishan Tsou Tribe in Different Place and Sustainable Development

Abstract

After the Morakot disaster in 2009, the affected indigenous tribes suffered from the government's use of permanent housing as a single reconstruction option, which forced the victims to leave their original land for a new life in a different reconstruction mode. The purpose of this study is to explore the ways adopted by tribal residents to maintain their own culture and tribal life in the process of disaster, post disaster reconstruction and post disaster adjustment. Veoveoana Village in Taiwan is an indigenous tribe that relocated after a disaster and was reconstructed and developed through tourism development. This study performed the research by participant observation and in-depth interviews on Veoveoana Village. The analytical results showed that: 1) development of the tourism industry can result in cultural reconstruction of the post-disaster tribe and maintain the people's incomes; 2) although the government constantly assists with the rehabilitation of tribal industry by various policies, the implementation cannot effectively continue and the outcome is insignificant; 3) due to the gap between permanent prefabricated housing and original tribal cultural features, the residential rate is not high. According to the research findings, it is suggested that, in the process of post-disaster reconstruction, the government and private non-profit organizations should respect the intention of the majority of the indigenous people. In addition, it should cultivate professional manpower for the subsidized projects.