In common with Taiwan's other indigenous tribes the Yami have come under pressure from Chinese culture, but less so and later than the other native peoples, so that their culture remains the best preserved.
跟其他原住民文化一樣，雅美文化同樣受到漢文化的衝擊，唯一不同的是，蘭嶼地處偏遠、海洋隔絕，加上開放得較晚，使得雅美文化得以成為原住民九族中保存最完整的一族。