Tien Chun-chou was born in 1943 in Hsiulin, Hualien. Her father was the first Truku Christian convert and her mother was a midwife. Tien's childhood years were spent with her grandmother going into the mountains to plant sweet potatoes and corn and with her uncle hunting in the mountain forests.
1943 年生於花蓮秀林鄉的田春綢，父親是第一位信仰上帝的太魯閣族人，母親是一位助產士，田春綢從小跟著祖母到山裡種植地瓜、玉米，跟著大伯到山林去打獵。