Lokah simu kwara! I am Wasiq Silan (I-An Gao 高怡安). I am a Tayal woman from the Mstaranan known as the Nanshi River valley in the northern part of Taiwan. I received my Ph.D. from the University of Helsinki in 2021. My work engages with Taiwan's social policy and the Tayal elders, grounded in interpretive policy analysis and critical ethnography while drawing from Indigenous methodologies. Doing Indigenous methodologies heal self-doubt and colonial wounds. You can listen to a short poem reflecting on my self-doubt about not being Indigenous here.

I was a core fellow at the prestigious Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, 2022-2024. For shared interest of migration and decoloniality, I am affiliated with the Centre for Research on Ethnic Relations and Nationalism (CEREN) at the University of Helsinki; for enhancing indigenous perspectives, I am part of the Indigenous Voices (IVO) research group at The Arctic University of Norway. Last but not least, for a shared interest of promoting social justice and decolonization of knowledge, I am participating in the International School of Radical Relationism. I have participated in the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) multiple times in the past decade. I presented and facilitated the substantial participation of Indigenous delegates from Taiwan. 

Lokah simu kwara! 我是 Wasiq Silan，漢名高怡安，我來自新北烏來，從小在老街長大。我台大政治系國關組畢業之後就拿教育部公費到芬蘭攻讀碩士，期間受到原民會自費留學補助，終於在 2021 年拿到博士學位。我的研究用詮釋性研究、原住民族方法論與批判視框去看台灣的社會政策，並從泰雅族耆老的經驗中去深化抵抗詮釋與逆寫。原住民族方法論有修補斷裂關係的力量，也可治癒自我懷疑與創傷。這段小詩描述了我自己族群認同懷疑與找到回家的路；我的研究發表聚焦健康、照顧與政策，可以參考這邊。

我目前在國立東華大學民族發展與社會工作學系擔任助理教授（教學課程可參考這邊）。在那之前，我在芬蘭首屈一指的赫爾辛基高等研究院擔任研究員，並與赫爾辛基大學的民族主義與族群研究中心保持友好的合作關係。我也與挪威北極大學的 Indigenous Voices 研究群密切聯繫，希望連結原住民議題提升原住民族話語權。今年開始，我也因希望社會正義與知識抵殖民議題，開始參加 International School of Radical Relationalism 活動。我在過去十年間積極參與原住民族議題常設論壇，不僅有多次發表經驗，也協力強化台灣原住民族與會者的實質參與。我目前的研究計畫請參考這邊。

Areas of Interest | qzyunam

• Aging and Care: indigenizing Taiwan's social services, in particular elder care; reconceptualizing care from a community perspective; developing sustainable health systems for Indigenous peoples' well-being. 

• Indigeneity: in bringing the case of Taiwan Indigenous peoples, I aim to critically contribute to the discussion of indigeneity globally.

• Indigenous sovereignty: exploring Iand-based systems of Indigenous knowledges that encompasses issues of self-determination, well-being, gender, and spirituality.

Latest News | mtzyuwaw saku

• Check out my interview at In Taiwan We Speak, Radio Taiwan International.

• I am working on my book on care and Indigenous peoples in Taiwan!

• I am delighted to take on the responsibility of journal editor of AlterNative: an International Journal of Indigenous Peoples (2024-2027), I look forward to facilitating more Indigenous voices from Taiwan through this capacity. 

• I am delighted to take up the position of trust as a Council member at the Taiwan Society for Care Research.

• Our Indigenous-led place-based project entitled "Care Relation Millets: Eco-Museum Approach" together with Yih-Ren Lin & 台灣泰雅爾族永續協會(Linhuyan pruruw yuwaw qalang Tayal)/The Association for Tayal People's Sustainable Development in Taiwan is featured in the January 2025 newsletter of the Ărramăt Project.

Upcoming | pcywagun

• February 2025: 

  • Methodological turns and interpretive twists in the humanities and social sciences, co-organized with Dr. Lina Klymenko

• March 2025:

  • 東亞和歐洲照顧政策的比較：當代挑戰與未來展望 LONG-TERM CARE POLICIES IN EAST ASIA AND EUROPE: Current challenges and future policy options

• June 2025:

  • Transforming Care Conference, co-lead with Prof. Tove Ness a thematic panel entitled Miles to go before we truly care? Decolonization and Care among the Indigenous Peoples (panel no. 15).