By the Editorial Board

Portait of Matika (right) and her mother, Nancy (left)

Matika Wilbur: Project 562

Changing the Way We See Native America

Matika Wilbur is a photographer from the Swinomish and Tulalip peoples of coastal Washington. The mission of Wilbur’s Project 562 is to change the way we see Native America through photographing the over 562 sovereign nations in the US. Her photographs rewrite historical inaccuracies and stereotypes to create true, contemporary representations of the vibrance and diversity of Indian Country. (Adapted from matikawilbur.com and project562.com)

Portrait of Fawn Douglas, Las Vegas Paiute

“For the last ten years, my work has been about counteracting these images to create positive Indigenous role models from this century.”

“I have joined our people in their homes, in tribal schools, in ceremonies, in places of immense and painful history, places of environmental and economic crises, and in settings of extraordinary natural beauty.”

Portrait of Talon and Sky Duncan, the Three Affiliated Tribes, Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation

“I’ve done my best to honor, appreciate, and uplift Indigenous nations…I worry I discuss our social disparity too often. There’s enough poverty in Indigenous representation. What our children need is an opportunity to see themselves differently, to see themselves as powerful, beautiful, and resilient. There were major battles fought for us to live in this moment in our traditional territories. As for the colonizers, it’s hard to say what they will take away from this work. We’re fighting a major narrative shift—recent studies revealed 64% of third-year undergraduate students believe Native Americans are extinct. My work is a small effort to help them imagine their world differently and to connect with the Indigenous narrative of the place they’re occupying. Not all of them will read about this work or take an interest in Indigenous intelligence, but maybe one or two will, and we’d all benefit from that shift.”

Portait of Melba Rita (Accawinna) Appawora, Uintah & Ooray Nation, Northern Ute

Portait of Charlotte Rutherford, Unangax, Cook Inlet

Canoes from the 2018 Coast Salish Canoe Journey Instagram: @project_562 Website: project562.com Podcast: All My Relations

Wilbur’s book is coming soon from Ten Speed Press and Penguin Random House.