In October 2022, Fulbright US Scholar to Taiwan Dr. Compton-Lilly received funding from the Fulbright Regional Travel Program (RTP) to visit two universities in Australia to share findings related to a bilingual, Indigenous book-making project in Taiwan.

During the visits, the scholar addresses the lack of culturally and linguistically responsive books for teaching Indigenous children and the need to learn about culturally responsive instruction for children in Indigenous communities. In Taiwan, the project involves the continuing creation and dissemination of books created through ongoing collaborations with Indigenous communities. These bilingual books introduce children to common Atayal words and address cultural topics identified by local tribes. Current work involves collaboration with Atayal-speaking teachers, who have now assumed primary responsibility for creating additional books. This project is important because it directly addresses the loss of Indigenous languages by introducing language elements to children, who will play an important role in long-term language sustenance (Chou, 2016).

At the University of South Australia (Adelaide) and the Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane), Dr. Compton-Lilly spoke to faculty and graduate students about this work and learned about efforts to support literacy and language learning with other Indigenous communities. This research is currently informing a similar project with a Cherokee Community in South Carolina.