Reclaiming a name, sustaining a culture.
Tafalong Elementary opened in 1901 — over 120 years ago — as the Tafalong branch of a Japanese-language training center based in Taitung, making it one of the oldest schools in the region. It was renamed multiple times over the following decades, but in 1994 the school made a meaningful choice: it reclaimed the Indigenous place name "Tafalong," the Amis word for crab, restoring the identity that colonial and postwar naming had displaced. Today roughly 90% of its approximately 272 students are Indigenous, and the school has built its curriculum directly around sustaining Amis cultural knowledge.
太巴塱國小創立於明治34年（1901年），前身為台東國語傳習所太巴塱分教場，校史已超過120年，是花蓮地區歷史最悠久的學校之一。學校在往後數十年間歷經多次更名，但於民國83年（1994年），學校做出了一項深具意義的決定：恢復使用原住民地名「太巴塱」——阿美族語中「螃蟹」之意——找回被殖民與戰後命名所取代的身分認同。如今全校約272名學生中，約90%為原住民，學校的課程也直接圍繞著延續阿美族文化知識而設計。
What makes this school worth knowing.
🦀 A Reclaimed Amis Name
找回太巴塱之名
In 1994, after decades of colonial and postwar renaming, the school restored its Indigenous name "Tafalong" — the Amis word for crab — reasserting the community's own identity in its own language.
🎨 Seven Living Cultural Programs
陶藝、木雕、舞蹈、織布、棒球、阿美古謠、足球
The school champions seven distinct cultural programs — pottery, wood carving, traditional dance, weaving, baseball, Amis singing, and soccer — an unusually comprehensive commitment to living Indigenous culture in daily school life.
🏺 Over 120 Years of History
超過一世紀的校史
Founded in 1901, Tafalong Elementary is one of the oldest schools in the region, with a history stretching back to the earliest years of organized education in Hualien.
🪶 A Community With Deep Roots
阿美族重要部落太巴塱
With about 90% of its roughly 272 students Indigenous, the school sits at the living center of one of Taiwan's largest and most historically significant Amis communities.
Tafalong, an Amis community of national significance.
Tafalong (also written Taparong) is widely recognized as one of the largest and most historically significant Amis Indigenous communities in all of Taiwan, known for its distinctive wood-carved motifs, age-grade social organization, and the annual Ilisin harvest festival. The elementary school's decision to reclaim its Amis name in 1994 and build its curriculum around seven cultural programs reflects the deep pride this community holds in its heritage.
Find the school.
No. 23, Sec. 2, Zhongzheng Rd., Guangfu Township, Hualien County 976, Taiwan
花蓮縣光復鄉中正路二段23號
School's Official Website (Chinese) ↗
Last updated: July 2026 · Content adapted and condensed from the school's official Chinese-language website by the Taiwan Bilingual Hub team, not yet reviewed by the school. If you're from Tafalong Elementary and would like to correct or expand this page, please contact us.