Beyond Stereotypes: Portraits and Stories of Native American Women

A new exhibition aims to change the way we see Native America.

April 28, 2021

Darkfeather Ancheta, Eckos Chartraw-Ancheta, and Bibiana Ancheta, Tulalip, Washington. Darkfeather, is pictured with her sister Bibiana and nephew Eckos at the edge of Tulalip Bay. They are wearing traditional regalia prepared for their annual Canoe Journey. Every year, upwards of 100 U.S. tribes, Canadian First Nations and New Zealand canoe families will make “The Journey” by pulling their canoes to a host destination Tribe. Canoe families pull for weeks, and upon landing participate in several days and nights of “protocol”, a celebration sharing traditional knowledge, ancestral songs, and sacred dances. Photo by Matika Wilbur for Project 562. Courtesy of the Artist.

A woman in a black dress and cedar hat stands along the Salish Sea shoreline, gazing out into the distance. The woman is Temryss Lane, Xeli'tia, of the Lummi Nation in Whatcom County. Her photograph is one of 28 on view at the Whatcom Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate in Bellingham, Washington, as part of the exhibition Seeds of Culture: The Portraits and Stories of Native American Women by Matika Wilbur.

Woman with grey hair stands with arms outstretched by her sides. — Dr. Mary Jiron Belgarde LoRe, Pueblo of Isleta and Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico. Dr. LoRe is a retired professor of Indian Education from the University of New Mexico. She has collaborated in establishing several charter schools focused on Indigenous education and has raised funds to support thousands of Native students. Photo by Matika Wilbur for Project 562. Courtesy of the Artist

Wilbur is a critically acclaimed photographer and social documentarian from the Tulalip and Swinomish Tribes in Washington State. She has spent the last several years photographing more than 500 federally recognized Native American tribes as part of Project 562. The project, which she launched in 2011, aims to change the way we see Native America.

Now, Wilbur is sharing a selection of her photographs out of thousands she’s taken in the exhibition Seeds of Culture. On view in the Whatcom Museum’s Lightcatcher building through June 13, 2021, the exhibition features photographs of Native American women along with interviews, written narratives, and a compelling sound-scape of voices and original music. It also includes a new special selection of images of women from area Tribes taken for the Museum’s exhibition.

Two children stand, each with one arm raised. — Isabella and Alyssa Klain, Navajo. Together we rise, our ancestors always behind us. Photo by Matika Wilbur for Project 562. Courtesy of the Artist

“We are grateful to Matika Wilbur for sharing her powerful images with our community, which shine light on the dynamic experiences of Indigenous women,” says Curator of Art Amy Chaloupka. “It’s especially exciting that Wilbur includes new works that highlight the stories of women from our region’s sovereign Nations.”

The show offers a glimpse into the lives of Native women from across the country. From elders and activists to artists and students, these women have shared their realities with Wilbur.

Two women stand in a field. — Sharlyce and Jennie Parker, Northern Cheyenne, Montana. Jennie Parker is from the Tongue River area of Ashland, Montana. Her Cheyenne name, Otse’eme, translates into Brave Woman. Photo by Matika Wilbur for Project 562. Courtesy of the Artist

On her Project 562 Instagram account, Wilbur writes: “In my ten years on the road these women have befriended, taught, and inspired me. They are down-to-earth, complex, fulfilled, suffering, knowing, vulnerable, real women.”

She says she invites viewers to “experience them as I have, beyond stereotypes, fetishes, and historical and societal reduction, worthy of immense appreciation for their essences.”

The exhibition is part of the Whatcom Museum’s ongoing effort to work with more Indigenous artists to celebrate contemporary voices, perspectives, and contributions to art. In the past five years the Museum has established a new Northwest Coast Indigenous People exhibition, adopted a land acknowledgement, and highlighted the works of contemporary Native artists in the galleries, as well as at the Museum Store.

A close-up of a woman in a hat. Another woman in a white sweater stands behind her. — Deborah Parker, Kayah George, Tulalip Tribes, Washington. Deborah Parker, Tsi-Cy-Altsa, former Vice-Chair Woman for the Tulalip Tribe, and her daughter Kayah George, are prominent advocates for Tribal women’s rights and well being. Deborah explains that “As a Native person, our first responsibility is to protect the earth, and as a woman, as a life-giver, it’s my first call of action, to make sure the land is sustainable and that my children live in a place where they can thrive and grow and be connected to the earth." Photo by Matika Wilbur for Project 562. Courtesy of the Artist

Matika Wilbur studied photography at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography in Montana and received her bachelor’s degree from Brooks Institute of Photography in California. After starting out in fashion and commercial work in Los Angeles, Wilbur went on to receive her teaching certificate.

Wilbur later went on to work as a certified teacher at Tulalip Heritage High School in Washington. During her time in education, she found the portrayal of First Peoples in “curricula and the media as ‘leathered and feathered,’ dying races undermined her students’ sense of identity and potential,” her website states.

It was out of that experience that Project 562 was born. The goal is to create a repository of imagery and oral histories that accurately portrays contemporary Native Americans.

Portrait of Matika Wilbur — Matika Wilbur, visual storyteller and member of the Swinomish and Tulalip tribes of the State of Washington. Courtesy of the Artist

Throughout the project, Wilbur has traveled hundreds of thousands of miles to visit all 50 states. Along the way she captured images of Indigenous Peoples from many of the country’s 562+ federally recognized Tribes.

Wilbur’s work has been exhibited extensively, including at the Seattle Art Museum, the Royal British Columbia Museum of Fine Arts, the Nantes Museum of Fine Arts in France, and others. The exhibition Seeds of Culture was originally shown at the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University.

In addition to Project 562, Wilbur also co-hosts the podcast All My Relations, which explores relationships and what is means to be a Native person today.

A woman stands among pine trees — Dr. Desi Small-Rodriguez, Northern Cheyenne, Montana. She is a Cheyenne and Chicana scholar, researcher, and Data Warrior. She is pictured among the pine trees on her grandmother’s land where she and many generations of her Cheyenne family were raised. From a young age, she recalls being committed to learning as much as possible in both the Western world and the Cheyenne world to help her people. Photo by Matika Wilbur for Project 562. Courtesy of the Artist

The Whatcom Museum is accredited nationally by the American Alliance of Museums, is a member of the American Association of State and Local History, and is a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate. Visit www.whatcommuseum.org for more information.

Marianne Graff | READ MORE

Marianne Graff is the Digital Marketing & Administration Manager at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Wash. She joined the museum in 2019 after spending seven years as an editor and social media specialist at the daily Skagit Valley Herald. She received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Western Washington University. When she’s not working, Marianne enjoys hiking, photography, and getting lost in a good book.