Street roots
Dec. 7, 2012
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P H O T O B Y M A T I K A W IL B U R
Americans among us
Photographer Matika
Wilbur embarks on a
project to document
Native American tribes
in all 50 states
B Y ZA C H A R IA H B R Y A N
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
atika Wilbur is leaving Seattle this
month to take up an extraordinary
mission: to visit all 50 states and
photograph and document all Native
American tribes in the nation.
Wilbur, who is enrolled in the Tulalip tribe
and was raised in the Swinomish tribe, has
dedicated much of her professional career to
photographing, lecturing on and informing
people about contemporary Native American
people and culture. So far she has focused
mostly on local Salish tribes, but now her
goal is to document the entire culture all
over the United States.
“I’d like to update the identity of the
Native American person and create a 21st
century image in people’s consciousness, so
through that we can build cultural bridges,
demolish stereotypes, honor traditions and
leave a legacy,” Wilbur said.
Documentary photography has not always
been Wilbur’s goal. She started out as a
fashion photographer for big-name
companies.
It was the “type of photography where you
can make a living,” she said.
It didn’t last long, though. On a Malibu,
Calif., set of a big shoot with a $35,000
budget, surrounded by picturesque green
grass and blue sky, Wilbur began having
doubts. “I was like, what am I doing selling
things?” she recalled. “I don’t want to do
this.”
Then, through a connection of her
father’s, she went on a documentary shoot of
indigenous people in South America. She
worked for about three-and-a-half months in
the Sacred Valley, south of Machu Picchu.
But after having a stunningly visual dream,
she once again had a change of heart:
“I had this dream with my grandmother,
and it was the only dream I’ve ever had with
my grandmother. We were shoe shopping,
actually, for sparkly red shoes ... and she
said, 'What are you doing photographing
these Indians when you haven’t even
photographed your own? Go home. Be with
your own people.’”
So Wilbur did. |
M
P H O T O B Y M A T I K A W IL B U R
The first project born out of her time at
home is entitled “We Are One People.” For
it, she photographed Native American elders
from Coast Salish tribes, including the
Swinomish, Tulalip, Upper Skagit and Lummi
Nations. Then she did her second and third
series, “We Emerge” and “All Alone.”
“You know, I didn’t expect to be a
documentary photographer or artist. I didn’t
have any expectations of the outcome,” she
said. “And people loved it - and people
bought it - and I sold the whole series.”
Her work has been showcased at the
Seattle Art Museum, the Royal British
Columbia Museum of Fine Arts, the Burke
Museum of Natural History and Culture, the
Nantes Museum of Fine Arts in France and
the Kitteredge Gallery at the University of
Puget Sound. She has permanent, viewable
collections at the Swinomish Cultural Center
and Tulalip administration building.
Her next project, “562,” plans to take
things to a new level.
Wilbur said the plan came from a desire to
explain to people that Native Americans are
still alive and still have a culture all their
own, and not the kind that you see in old
John Wayne movies.
“The stereotype is that Native people live
in teepees and wear leather and feathers,”
she said. “People don’t realize that there is
very much a living, breathing contemporary
culture within indigenous communities.”
When Wilbur would lecture at other
places, particularly on the East Coast or in
other countries, people were often amazed
or shocked that Native Americans even
existed.
“When you go to different places in the
U.S. and you exhibit your work, people don’t
realize we’re still here, you know?”
Wilbur recounted one story of when she
visited Germany and a woman approached
her and said, “I want to touch your hair; I’ve
always wanted to touch an Indian’s hair.”
Inevitably, while lecturing, people would
ask her questions about contemporary
Native American culture, but she could only
tell stories from her own life and experience
Wilbur said she wanted to change that, to
increase her perspective and knowledge.
“You can’t form an opinion until you’ve
gone to visit all those different tribes.”
Because she has other obligations as well,
Wilbur said the trip will be broken up into
segments, going to different places at
different times, and often coming back to
Washington to do other work.
A lot of her time will be spent on the road.
Originally, her idea was to drive around in an
RV equipped with a photo lab and a
darkroom, but she said she might try for
something more economical. Friends have
come out in support of her, opening up their
homes to her, so she said it may be more
feasible to set up temporary bases at those
places. She is using Kickstarter, a funding
platform for creative projects, to raise funds
for the project.
Wilbur has 1,095 days to complete the
project. This means she has to shoot about
four different tribes each week, she said, and
has to finish shooting by August of 2015.
The Burke Museum, the Tacoma Art
Museum and the Seattle Art Museum have
already come out in support of the project,
with exhibit dates tentatively set in 2015.
Wilbur also plans to print a publication
showcasing the photos. Above all, her goal is
education, she said.
Wilbur’s list of projects extends past
“562.” She said she has long dreamed of
creating a giant, mobile longhouse with
which she can travel the nation. With it, she
could inform people that Native Americans
are still very much alive and are still their
own people.
“My idea is not just to create an exhibit
but an experience for people, a humongous
longhouse that honors tradition by having
potlatch,” said Wilbur, speaking of the Native
gift-giving ceremony. “Guests can come and
feel respected and have a sharing of culture,
traditional song and dance and food.”
This story was first published by the Ballard
News Tribune, where Zachariah Bryan is
editor.