文化一直被視爲是區辨「我群」及「他者」的有效變項，但因爲「文化」不 易定義，誰掌握文化論述的內容，誰就掌握了描繪族群邊界的權力，同時也間接 引發族群內部再區隔化（re-separation)以及種屬化（speciation)的分離力量。
過去對於布農文敎基金會的硏究多偏重在文化產業或內部殖民的觀點。本文 嘗試從布農族傳統的權力觀在現代國家機器下的轉變，來探討此一過程對基金會 產生何種制約，且基金會個案如何還原布農族原有的「能力至上，多元競爭」及 「連結而不團結」的特質；而其中，國家機器的介入更使不同地區的布農族不易發 展出單一的族群想像與認同。
布農文敎基金會身爲一個原住民社團，它對誰發言？在哪裡發言？又說了些 什麼？從基金會企圖影響的對象來看，它是在異族中尋找自己的位置，抓住了主 流社會對原住民處境的愧疚感，於是其作爲便背負了「被喚醒」的異族的想像與 期待，許多掌握發言權的菁英亦是透過批判基金會來形構「我的」布農族的意象。 但究竟誰是「布農族」其實也存在許多不同的論述。在面對不同政權的操控下，布 農人已發展出不同層面的社會適應J布農文敎基金會是其中的代表，它不失做爲 理解一個族群在面對文化詮釋競爭時，所出現的認同爭議以及其對文化解構與再 構的過程。

Culture is always regarded as a useful concept to distinguish the differences among ethnic peoples. When the definition of culture is hazy, those whose definitions of the content of a culture become dominant will have the power to decide ethnic boundaries. These cultural discourses can also produce new forms of differentiation and separation within an ethnic group.
There are many studies of the Bunun Cultural and Educational Foundation focusing on cultural industries and internal colonization. This paper attempts to explain transformations in the Bunun’s concept of power when the state apparatus interferes in the ethnic affairs. State intervention has restricted the development of the foundation and the revival of the Bunun’s traditions of plural competition, capability-oriented spirit, and connection without union. It also explains why the Bunun find it hard to agree upon a single identity.
As an aboriginal association, the Bunun Cultural and Educational Foundation has to be strategic in what they say，to whom they say it, and where they say it. The foundation, by influencing the dominant class, awakens their consciousness about their place among Taiwan’s ethnic groups and their rights to recompense for historical wrongs. On the other hand, most of elites in the tribe rebuild their own identity and image by criticizing the foundation's conduct. When the Bunun reexamine their culture, different discourses feature in the process. The Bunun have developed diverse kinds of social adaptation under different governors. This case study will help us to understand the process of cultural reconstruction and the arguments that emerge when an ethnic group faces competition among different culture interpretations.