中央政府對於原住民族的正名都是依照嚴格的血源標準,要有原住民身份的個人才能提出原住民族正名的訴求,因此強調各族群間必須要有文化差異才能正名只是虛應形式,最大的例證是政府新近正名了四個新原住民族,卻沒有因此增加任何一個原住民個人。過去平埔族群認定運動也陷入血源主義的泥淖,忽略了因歷史發展不同導致平埔後裔皆無原住民身份的現實,一再訴求同時族群認定與個人身份認定,導致至今十年毫無進展。2005年西拉雅人開始了不同的嘗試:先強調文化,再強調血源;訴求族群可因文化重要性先認定,個人身份問題可暫時擱置;訴求政府應先給予平埔族群集體發展權,平埔個人權益可緩議。西拉雅人的嘗試於2006-7年獲得極大的進展:台南縣政府首先於2006年設置「台南縣西拉雅原住民事務委員會」,認定西拉雅族為縣定原住民族;2007年原民會依照台南縣模式籌設「平埔原住民族事務推動小組」,並將專款執行「平埔原住民族文化與語言振興計畫」。這些發展與過去中央原住民族的認定過程極為不同:先有族群後有個人;以文化標準而非血源標準認定族群;族群自治團體開始嘗試自主認定族人。預計這些發展將對於中央已認定原住民族造成良性影響。
Taiwan central government usually re-recognizes indigenous groups by blood relationship. Only those groups whose members have already been recognized can the appeal for re-recognition be approved. However, the plains indigenous groups, whose members were not recognized, failed to appeal for recognition in the past decade because they did not realize that they were not qualified by criteria of blood relationship. In 2006, the Siraya, a plains indigenous group, was successfully recognized by Tainan County and became the first county-recognized indigenous group. This case also stimulated Taiwan central government to change their recognition policy for plains indigenous groups to cultural criteria. The Siraya people are therefore now asserting their own right to selfdetermination, at least on the issue of group membership. This initiative has inspired other indigenous groups to determine their own membership based on the principle of self-determination.