台灣學術界研究戰後原住民議題的論著，焦點與取徑通常將原住民放在一個政治、經濟與文化上處於弱勢結構的角度，強調國民黨政權透過政治、經濟與武力的優勢對台灣原住民社會進行剝削與宰制。然而，卻忽略了統治者各種的文化闡釋、表述、再現等修辭策略之「文化作用」所帶來的支配與宰制。本文首先回溯1945年終戰前後國民政府的接收計畫，在對台灣原住民認識不多的情況下，僅能以既有在中國大陸發展出的民族論論述將台灣原住民視為少數民族，定位為中華民族之下宗族的一支。1947年更進一步否定原住民菁英「台灣族」的族名倡議，以符合其民族論論述的方式命名為「山地同胞」。1949年底國民黨政權撤守台灣，原住民社會也被捲入反共、愛國、現代化的意識形態鬥爭之中，1950年起國民黨政權針對原住民展開一連串的政策與論述宣傳，從相關媒體報導與文本中可歸納出幾項特色，包括強化同源同宗的民族論述、展現差異與施政成果的論述、順民與效忠的戲碼等，而這些塑造山地從「落後到進步」、「野蠻到開化」的修辭與宣傳，不僅將統治者的意識形態灌注到「山胞」身上，也讓國民黨政權扭轉了國共鬥爭的失敗者形象，進一步強化其現代中國的正朔形象。透過本文初步的歷史考察，約略可以拼湊出戰後國民黨「山胞論述」與政治權力技術相互輝映下所發展出的宰制關係。

This article examines how and why the ruling party used various rhetorical strategies-cultural interpretation, expression and representation-to hold sway over the first peoples of Taiwan in the early postwar period. This essay begins with the KMT's reclamation effort in 1945, when the Japanese relinquished control of Taiwan. At first, KMT officials knew very little about the Formosan natives. Influenced by the nationalist rhetoric prevalent in China at the time, the KMT viewed the aborigines as a minority. The aborigines were effectively subsumed under the Chinese nationality. The KMT went one step further in 1947 by renouncing the aboriginal leaders' initiative to be called the ＂Taiwan nation＂, and in keeping with nationalist rhetoric, decided to call them ＂mountain compatriots＂ instead. After the KMT government relocated to Taiwan in 1949, the island moved to the frontline of the cold war, and the aborigines quickly became caught up in the ensuing battle of ideologies: anti-communism, nationalism and modernism. Beginning in 1950 the KMT government began implementing a suite of policies and propaganda campaigns geared toward the aborigines. Based on information in related media reports and propaganda materials, ideas central to the discourse included the single origin of the Chinese people, the common ancestry of the people of Taiwan, applauding progress and the accomplishments of the administration, and the importance of being a law-abiding citizen and pledging loyalty to the Republic of China. The following historical survey delineates the means by which the KMT asserted its dominance over the aborigines through the combined use of political power plays and the ＂mountain compatriot＂ discourse, each tactic enhancing the other.