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Becoming the Change You Want to Be – An Interview with Junyi Alumna, Hanako


“So far, I believe I’ve lived out two of the motivational quotes that Chair Stanley Yen often encourages us with, ‘Be the change you want to see’ and ‘Be someone who is ready.’” Hanako Purapuran (Wen-Chun Chen), a radiant graduate of the pioneering class of Junyi School of Innovation (2018), has had a busy summer. In June, she participated in the Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture in Hawaiʻi, held an art exhibition in Philadelphia in July, returned to Taiwan for an artist residency in Taitung in August, and by the end of the month, she was off to Japan for a three-month course.


Hanako, who comes from the Nanwang tribe in Taitung (Puyuma tribe), first encountered Junyi when she attended the Huatung English Camp as a 6th grader. Drawn to the camp’s unique environment, she decided to trust the organization behind – The Alliance Cultural Foundation, and enrolled in its high school three years later, embarking on a journey of free exploration during her teenage years. Though she narrowly missed acceptance into the Program of Performing Arts at National Taiwan Normal University, she embraced the idea that “every cloud has a silver lining.” Supported by Junyi Innovative Study Abroad Program (JISAP), she enrolled into Pearson College UWC in Canada, where she completed the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP). Upon graduating from UWC, Hanako received a full scholarship from the Davis UWC Scholars Program to attend Drexel University in Philadelphia, where she majored in Entertainment and Arts Management Program.

Hanako (first on the right) hiking with UWC classmates along an abandoned railway.

Creating Fresh Eyes


This summer marked Hanako’s final break as a university student. Together with her friends from Philadelphia, the independent music duo BlckTeeth, Hanako applied for an artist residency at the “Taitung Indigenous Cultural and Creative Industries Park” in Taitung. Hanako played the role of project manager, arranging for BlckTeeth to record with rising star Pacak in both Taipei and Taitung and collaborated with Junyi alumnae Kating and Yun Dai. This collaboration fused R&B, improvisational music, and indigenous performance art, with performances at the Blue House (formerly Tiehua Music Village). 

Kating wrote the lyrics, while Dai sang the traditional tunes, recounting the Amis tribe’s story of the Great Flood. Their words blended with BlckTeeth’s experimental, improvisational music. Hanako shared with a laugh how the performance enthused the audience’s curiosity at the busy Blue House, “People wanted to know what this was about and why they couldn’t understand it... as Kating said, performance art is about exploring what you don’t understand, and that sense of not knowing is important – it sparks curiosity.” She added, “Although performance art is very niche, I believe music, being more popular, can help promote it.”


BlckTeeth spoke highly of working with Hanako, giving her a big thumbs-up. “She is goal-oriented and organized while giving us the freedom to express ourselves. She’s incredibly creative because she explores various art forms. Collaborating with her allowed us to connect with artists we normally wouldn’t interact with, helping us break through language and social barriers.” This exchange challenged each participant to step outside their comfort zone, and when they returned, they did so with fresh eyes.


Empowerment Through Indigenous Culture


Hanako’s mother is from Kaohsiung, and her father is Puyuma from Taitung. “When my mother first visited Taitung, she stayed at my father’s house to attend a tribal festival, and she often jokes that she didn’t just marry my dad – she married the Puyuma culture as well.” Years ago, her father suffered a spinal injury in a work-related accident, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. Her mother took on the heavy responsibility of providing for the family while also embracing the role of matriarch in their matrilineal Puyuma society.

Taiwanese weightlifter Kuo Hsing-chun with Hanako's family

With her mother’s encouragement, Hanako’s father came to accept his disability. He became a national table tennis champion and represented Taiwan at the Asian Para Games in 2018 and 2022. “Even though my mother isn’t Puyuma, she embodies the typical strength of a Puyuma woman – she can do everything.” Hanako admires her mother’s resilience. “Being a Puyuma woman is something special. As I’ve grown up, I’ve realized that Puyuma culture teaches you that you can do anything. You don’t have to rely on others; you can be independent.” Despite their modest circumstances, Hanako’s parents have provided her with invaluable life lessons.

Sharing the Memory of Puyuma Rituals in Philadelphia


With a lifelong passion for creativity, Hanako studied dance in elementary school, created music in high school, and even performed in musicals. This July, she curated her first art exhibition, “Healing from Within: Connecting Global Indigenous Wisdom and Communitas,” at Drexel University’s gallery. The exhibition centred around global indigenous healing rituals, exploring how indigenous people use their wisdom to heal personal and collective trauma. Hanako’s mentor, Girija Kaimal, is the interim Chair of the Creative Arts Therapies Department and a former President of the American Art Therapy Association.


“After losing a part of your body or certain abilities, it can be very difficult to accept yourself again. It took my father three years or even longer to accept that he couldn’t walk. That’s why I wanted to create an exhibition related to healing, which is also tied to the history of indigenous peoples. Colonial history is undoubtedly heavy. How do we come to terms with this colonized past and continue moving forward without staying in constant anger?”


Her father’s life story and the collective memory of indigenous people being colonized became the inspiration for the exhibition concept. Hanako and co-curator Dot Pallanes invited nine indigenous artists from the US, Canada, St. Martin, Ghana, Pacific Island nations, and Taiwan to participate. Their works spanned across painting, tattoo, dance, fashion design, installation art, and more. “We want you to know that you have the power to accept, imagine, transform, and heal yourself.” The exhibition also emphasized the importance of community support as a powerful force for rebirth. “We hope ‘Healing from Within’ will be a motivation for people to reconnect with their heritage, to confront both history and the future, and to ‘be the change’ for themselves and others. And the first step is to heal from within,” she wrote in the curatorial statement.

Hanako created her own installation titled ‘2nd Funeral (Benanban)’, which portrayed the Puyuma tribe’s annual funeral ritual. The installation featured five plastic chairs commonly seen in the tribe’s villages, each with different items symbolizing the ritual. 


Every New Year’s Day, the Puyuma tribe holds the “mourning ritual,” where the officiating priest and male elders visit the bereaved family to offer blessings, sing traditional songs, and show the tribe’s collective care for the family’s loss. It also symbolizes that the family will be released from their mourning and return to the tribe’s festivities and social life. The funeral release ritual embodies the process of transforming grief into faith and strength. “It’s not only for the family but also for the spirit of the deceased, asking them to rest assured because the tribe will take care of their family.” Hanako finds this to be a deeply poetic ritual—while it expresses the reluctance to let go of the deceased, it also emphasizes cherishing those still around. “It’s about acceptance and moving forward, as well as the healing of both the individual and the community.”

One of the eight participating artists, Gracie Kuppenbender, is a Métis artist from Canada’s indigenous peoples. She uses hoop dance as an art form. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Canada’s colonialists used the residential school system as a colonial tool, causing severe cultural loss among indigenous peoples. In the 1920s and 1930s, indigenous people developed the hoop dance to reclaim their own dance traditions. Kuppenbender interacts with dozens of hoops to create shapes like butterflies or bears, forming a storytelling method and a reflection on personal identity. Hanako sees in her work the limitless possibility of believing in who you can become.


Not only recognition, but also sharing.


“I lived at home during my three years at Junyi, and as a teenager, I was thinking about ‘who I am.’ Starting in junior high, I participated in the tribe’s youth programs, where older brothers and sisters from the tribe taught us about our culture. It was during this time that I laid the foundation for my self-identity.” The various seasonal ceremonies in the tribe, the horizontal connections of mutual support among peers, and the vertical connections through stories of family lineage made Hanako deeply identify with her Puyuma heritage.

In June of this year, Hanako participated as a youth ambassador in the Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture in Hawaiʻi and the Young Pacific Leaders annual conference, where she interacted with indigenous peoples from the Pacific region. What struck her the most was that people communicated not only in English but also in their regional languages, “Many times, I couldn’t understand others’ conversations because many people gave speeches in their mother tongue. I loved how everyone was so patient, which also encouraged me to speak my native language in public.”


Hanako deeply feels the plight of indigenous peoples in contemporary society. If minority groups remain hidden in mainstream environments, they naturally lose the opportunity to express their culture, and it gradually disappears. During the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture, she posted a short Instagram video, initiating an online campaign encouraging people to introduce themselves in their native languages, promoting the creation of a diverse and friendly space, “Let’s learn from each other and let the world hear our languages.”

A gift to the tribe is returning home


During her time at UWC, Hanako was uncertain whether she should return to Taiwan for university or continue abroad. She asked Pinik, an elder sister who teaches the tribal language at Nanwang Puyuma Wreath Experimental Elementary School. “When we finish weeding the millet, we elect the person who has contributed most to the tribe, and Pinik is always fast-moving, diligent, and never lazy. She told me, ‘Everyone has a different job, and few people are doing what you are doing. If you can stand in this position, you can show more indigenous youth different possibilities.’” This conversation from five years ago gave Hanako, who was deeply connected to the tribe, more strength and less guilt. She realized that even if she wasn’t physically in the tribe, she could still give back to her hometown in different ways.


When asked, “If you could give a gift to the Nanwang Tribe, what would it be?”


To the students still in school, I want them to know that there are many different paths they can take.


To people of my age group, I would say, “I’m back,” because we haven’t shared memories together for a long time. I’ve missed many friends’ weddings and children’s celebrations, but now I can participate in these important life events.


To the aunts, uncles, and elders, of course, I will be there when they need help or when there are festivals to participate in.


“Just showing up is a simple thing, but many people can’t do it. At UWC, we often talked about commitment. People nowadays are too busy, so how can I let everyone know that I care about this? I think it’s by being there in person.” After seeing the world, Hanako hasn’t forgotten her roots.

Left: Outdoor Education class; Right: Junyi T-shirt 'BE THE CHANGE' (Be the change you want to see).

Chenggong Fish Harbour is right in front of me.


When Hanako attended Junyi, the Outdoor Education program required students to build a kayak, then row it with classmates from Jinzun to Chenggong Fish Harbour. “We rowed for eight hours. Wait, was it eight hours? Maybe four or five hours? It was so painful! Ever since then, whenever I feel like I can’t keep running, I remember rowing on the Pacific Ocean, constantly imagining that I was already seeing ‘Chenggong Fish Harbour’ ahead of me.”


Looking back on Hanako’s past six years of studying abroad, she has pursued her education in Canada, Taiwan, the US, Ecuador, and Japan. External challenges never stopped her from moving forward. When her family couldn’t afford the high tuition fees, she earned scholarships with her outstanding performance; when the pandemic was severe, she returned to Taiwan for a year before setting out again. Behind her brave journey are the roots of tribal culture, a warm family, and a sense of security, “I always feel that if something happens, Junyi and The Alliance Cultural Foundation (ACF) are behind me, supporting me, like ACF’s logo – that trust made going abroad less scary for me.”

The jewelry designed by Hanako for the 2024 Drexel William Sidney Pittman Prize highlights Drexel University's inclusive and diverse culture.

Soon, Hanako will graduate from university and plans to start a business with another indigenous friend, working as managers for international cultural exchange projects. This will allow her to continue engaging with the fields she loves – music, art, and education while also suiting her personality.


After a busy summer, she was waiting to start school in Japan. “I don’t have any friends here yet,” Hanako said, enjoying the rare opportunity to get to know herself better, adjust her lifestyle, and savour some alone time. “Hanako” is the Japanese word for “flower child,” a name she inherited from her grandmother, along with the history of indigenous peoples being colonized by Japan. The “wreath” is an important cultural symbol in the Puyuma tribe, where women express their love and care for family members by hand-weaving wreaths, offering acceptance and blessings to the recipients. 

Special thanks to Hanako for sharing her story with us. We wish her continued freedom in expressing her creativity and hope the world continues to see the precious and unique art and culture of indigenous peoples.


Special thanks from Hanako to her mentors at Junyi – Principal Peihsuan Pai, Vice Principal Anthony Cluver, Teachers Andreas Liu, Tjuku Lin, and Chair Stanley Yen for his years of encouragement, as well as ACF, its partners, and ACFI for supporting the JISAP.

In 2019, Chair Stanley Yen visited Hanako in Canada, and now, 'in the blink of an eye, she’s about to complete her studies👍'.

Note: During their residency in Taiwan, BlckTeeth collaborated with indigenous musicians Pacak (@pacakpalasasav), Abus (@abus.tanapima), Kating Adaw Langasan (@kating._), Yun Dai (@selep_1119), and US-based music producer and rapper Daniel Black (@thedanielblack) to create and record music. They are expected to release an album in Taiwan.



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