Of course it’s ridiculous. Even Matika Wilbur acknowledges that.

Now, anyways.

Attempting to photograph people from every federally recognized Native American Tribal Nation. An official from the Seattle Art Museum, where she was living on the ancestral homeland of her Swinomish and Tulalip ancestors, laughed at the idea. Literally.

It’s the sort of pursuit that could only be seriously considered under the influence of youth with all its energy and naïveté. Wilber was in her mid-twenties when embarking on this odyssey. That was 2012. She’s 38 now.

After 10 years, 600,000 miles, the loss of loved ones, heartbreak, a pandemic and the birth of a daughter, “Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America” hits bookstores April 25, 2023.

In it, Wilbur achieved the impossible: photographing someone from each of the federally recognized tribes in America, all 562 at the time of the project’s inception. The book, a love letter to Indigenous Americans, contains hundreds of stunning portraits and compelling personal narratives making clear Native people are diverse and contemporary, counteracting one-dimensional and archaic stereotypes of Native people in mainstream media.

That’s where the idea came from.

A One Woman Google

Wilbur was teaching at a tribal school on her reservation when the principal, an elder now, asked for her help in developing a curriculum to teach a class in photography and digital literacy. The school wanted its children to learn about themselves, to have a deeper understanding of their identity.

“I started looking and pulling stuff off the internet and at the time, when you Googled ‘Native person, Native American,’ what you found was a leather and feathered person,” Wilbur told Forbes.com of the antiquated images then promoted by the search engine.

She would eventually speak at Google, showing employees there the stereotypical depictions being served to users seeking information on Native people by the search engine. Google subsequently assigned a task force to remedy the problem.

Google was certainly not alone in time-capsuling Indigenous people as relics of the past. A study found 87% of state level history standards as of 2015 failed to cover Native people’s history in a post-1900 context, playing “into a damaging extinction narrative” in Wilbur’s words.

These outdated portrayals feed the ignorance of non-Native people. The negative impacts extend as well to Native people who are presented an unending stream of imagery and information subconsciously telling them they have no future.

Enter “Project 562.”

“I want our children to have the opportunity to celebrate their own identity and to have access to the truth and to have access to these stories,” Wilbur said.

She recognizes, however, her limited ability to change centuries of misinformation.

“It’s just one book, we need so much more Indigenous scholarship; hopefully it inspires more authors, more storytellers, more photographers, more editors to publish Native stories, more producers to produce Native films, more professors to teach American Indian law,” Wilbur said. “The goal is for it to ignite a fire in our collective consciousness that says, ‘I do realize that I don’t know enough about Native people and about whose indigenous land I’m living on. I don’t know what I should be doing to be a good ally to Native America.’ Hopefully it begins opening that door for people and inviting them to be a part of that conversation.”

Becoming a Better Relative

Over the course of producing “Project 562,” Wilbur traveled through all 50 states, from Seminole country now known as the Everglades in South Florida, to Inuit territory now known as the Bering Sea in Alaska. By her estimation, she photographed some 1200 people, personally visiting about 400 different tribes.

At the outset, she intended to finish the book in three years, visiting two or three tribes a week and also attending large intertribal gatherings. She ditched that notion about five years in.

“I learned in the process how to let go of these Western standards of production and learn how to be on Indian time,” she said.

She also went from youth to middle age, undergoing a significant transformation herself.

“When I started the work, I hadn’t critically evaluated myself; how to be a good relative as a journalist, as a storyteller, as a photographer, as a filmmaker; I think my Western training in photography really impacted my approach,” Wilbur said. “My approach to storytelling really changed throughout this process on how to be a better a better relative.”

What does Wilbur mean by being a better relative?

“The work of colonization, the impact on Indigenous people of colonization, the result of Indian boarding schools and assimilation policies instituted by the U.S. government is believing and upholding individualism,” she explains.

Critique of the individual may cause a knee jerk negative reaction by many, so deeply ingrained in the American subconscious is the value of individualism. The do-it-yourself spirit. Romance surrounding the loner, the cowboy, one man against the world. “I did it my way.”

“Very early we encourage our children to be individuals, we test our children individually instead of testing the collective conscious, we grade our children individually instead of grading the entire group. We separate ourselves into insular single-family homes instead of having relationships with the elders in our family and the next generation and our kin and living in relationships where the responsibility of life is balanced between several families,” Wilbur explains. “Instead, we feel isolated and alone. We isolate our bank accounts. We become individuals. That’s what colonization did to us. Prior to colonization, we lived in kinship societies. We lived in longhouses, we lived in societies where there was a constant redistribution of wealth and services for the community, for the betterment of the community as a whole.”

Individualism, as practiced by America, centers upon selfishness, antisocial behavior, exclusion, every man for themselves, dog eat dog, the requirement of many losers to support the few winners.

Personal property. Gun rights. Health care. Deregulation of the financial sector, of corporate responsibility to the environment. Union busting. The widening wealth gap.

Each preferences the individual to the detriment of society.

“The antithesis of being an individual and believing in individualism is living for the seven generations, living in a way that contributes to the greater good for our community, for our society, living in relationship with the generations that came before us, carrying on the work of our ancestors, and doing the work that is going to benefit the next generation which means a complete overhaul in the way that we’re approaching life,” Wilbur said. “Not approaching life for capitalism or for greed or for improving my personal stature or posturing my class or my value over another person, but rather thinking of how I can give back to that community. It’s a service-oriented way of life.”

You Have My Word

Wilbur sold everything in her apartment and launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund “Project 562.” She tried playing it straight by applying for grants, but was repeatedly denied. She couldn’t find an institution willing to support her, either directly, or even to help with her grant requests.

Less than 2% of all philanthropic dollars in America go to Native American causes and only a tiny percentage of that to help Native artists.

“It’s not surprising that I had a hard time finding foundations to support the work and so I had to find alternative funding for the project; turning to Kickstarter was one of my only options,” Wilbur said. “Honestly, I thought if I don’t raise the money, I just won’t do the project.”

But she did raise the money. $35,000 in 2012 and then $250,000 more in a later round.

“Indian Country came through for me,” she said. “The average donation was like $20, so this was really a grassroots effort supported by many, many, many people.”

Naturally, she had her doubts along the way. Numerous times she thought to herself, this is crazy, it’s too big. She wanted to quit.

Stubbornness and her word brought her back from the brink.

“I firmly believe that you should do what you say you’re going to do,” Wilbur said. “I get a lot of nasty emails from Kickstarter contributors from 10 years ago who are like, ‘I want my free book!’ Those things definitely impacted me; there are a lot of people counting on me to do this work. I firmly believe inside of me that I should do what I say I’m going to do. That’s what made me keep doing the work even when I felt like it was an impossible feat.”

Wilbur, who in addition to her writing and photography co-hosts the “All My Relations” podcast highlighting people and topics important across Indian Country, will be undertaking a national tour in support of the “Project 562” book which can be ordered through this link.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A Kentucky native will sing the National Anthem at Kentucky Derby 149. 

In a release, Churchill Downs said on Tuesday that Kentucky native Carly Pearce will perform the anthem before the “Run for the Roses” on Saturday, May 6. 

Pearce is a singer-songwriter from Taylor Mill, Kentucky. The country music artist is the reigning ACM Female Artist of the year. She won her first Grammy in February for “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” with Ashley McBryde, becoming the first female pairing to win the award. She will perform the “The Star-Spangled Banner” live just after 5 p.m. on Derby Day to an estimated worldwide television audience of 16 million.

Pearce joins a list of major artists to perform the National Anthem at the Kentucky Derby. Past artists who have performed include Brittney Spencer (2022), Tori Kelly (2021), Jennifer Nettles (2019), Pentatonix (2018), Harry Connick Jr. (2017), Lady A (2016), Josh Groban (2015), Jo Dee Messina (2014), Martina McBride (2013), Mary J. Blige (2012), Jordin Sparks (2011), Rascal Flatts (2010) and LeAnn Rimes (2009).

Churchill Downs is breaking new ground with a live performance by Rachel Platten of her “Fight Song” during the Kentucky Oaks’ 15th Survivor’s Parade at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 5.

The song has become an anthem for those battling cancer. The parade this year includes 149 breast and ovarian survivors and fighters who have been selected to participate. Platten will also perform the National Anthem at 5 p.m. before the Oaks race. 

Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.

Jeffrey Gibson’s studio could be considered his biggest work of art. 

Just about a decade ago, Gibson undertook a major project, converting a former schoolhouse in Hudson, New York, into a 14,000-square-foot workshop and studio. Ten years later, the project is nearly complete. Located on four acres of rolling country land, the studio is, by all accounts, a place of beauty—filled with handwoven rugs, art Gibson admires, and music (always music). It is here, in relative isolation, that Gibson and his studio team plan, think, and make—but also dance, dine, and laugh. “I like to have everything in one place,” says Gibson. 

Jeffrey Gibson, The Many Worlds (2023). Courtesy of Art Market San Francisco Fort Mason Pavillion. Photograph by Drew Bird Photography San Francisco.

It’s been full days in the studio lately. The Choctaw-Cherokee artist, who is celebrated for his electrically colorful multimedia works that fuse Native American iconography with imagery from contemporary culture, has a busy few months ahead. Last weekend, Gibson presented The Many Worlds, a suspended mobile that models solar system presented at Art Market San Francisco fair in conjunction with ICA San Francisco—the exhibition “This Burning Call” closed at the museum on Sunday. Now Gibson is gearing up for his next solo exhibition “Once More With Feeling” at Jessica Silverman Gallery in San Francisco in June, followed by solo shows at both Stephen Friedman, London, and Sikkema Jenkins, New York, in the fall.  

With this chock-full exhibition calendar ahead, we caught up with Gibson at his studio. He told us what is on his playlist, how he creates a comfortable studio space, and what he does right before he leaves the studio. 

Tell us about your studio. Where is it, how did you find it, what kind of space is it, etc.? 

I moved up to Hudson, New York, in 2012, with my partner. We were looking to leave the city and we said let’s give it a shot and see if we’re happy. The studio was a turn-of-the-century schoolhouse in the Hamlet of Clare, just outside of Hudson. We saw it when we first moved up here. I wasn’t in a position to buy a studio then, but a few years later, it was still available. I’d never owned a building before. I’d never had to renovate a building, so I was naive. The renovation process has been doable but has been extensive. We’re still in the process of renovating to its ultimate form, but I’d say we’re about 75 percent there. I had never had this much space before. When you first move into a space this large, it feels overwhelming. And then over the years, it gets filled up!  

Courtesy of the artist and his studio.

Do you have studio assistants or other team members working with you? What do they do? 

We hover between 14 to 17 people. The studio’s broken up into basically two halves: one half focuses on paintings and the other half focuses on handwork, like beading, and sewing. We have someone who works primarily with welding armatures and creating structures for things. And I have two studio managers, a production manager and a painting manager. Many of these people have been here for some time, some coming up on nine years. One person has been here for 11 years. We have, what I call, a studio memory. We’re very close and I want everyone to be happy and to feel good about working here. We are a very functional space, and I don’t micromanage people. Everyone gets to direct their day to some degree.  

Courtesy of the artist and his studio.

How many hours do you typically spend in the studio, what time of day do you feel most productive, and what activities fill the majority of that time? 

I have two small kids. Assembling the team came with the knowledge that I was going to start a family. My kids are four and about to turn seven. They’re both in school so getting them out of the door is my first priority. I get to the studio between 9:30 and 10 a.m. and my day wraps up at 5:00 p.m. My team makes that possible. Bill and Brian, who are the studio managers, are the people who I look to for meetings and what’s scheduled. The goal is that I can be working in the studio half the day with no real directive as to what I’m meant to be doing. 

What tool or art supply do you enjoy working with the most, and why?  

Recently, I’ve really gotten into rulers. There’s a lot of geometry in the painting. The rulers—when you get one that actually is made for what you’re doing are kind of incredible and keep everything in order. I also absolutely have to have music. Some people in the studio play really great music. 

What kind of atmosphere do you prefer when you work? Is there anything you like to listen to/watch/read/look at etc. while in the studio for inspiration or as ambient culture? 

In my ideal world, we would have a resident DJ. We need access to good coffee, a good tea. We have a food prep space where people can make their own food. I like a very laid-back environment. We have beautiful pink walls here and lots of sunlight. The challenge for me, like artists, including myself when I was younger, was working in whatever space was available. As I’ve been able to choose that space, I wanted it to be nice so that I enjoy coming here. We had real, hand-woven rugs. I’m a textile collector—there are lots of cushions. And art on the walls.  

Courtesy of the artist and his studio.

What images or objects do you look at while you work? Do you have any other artist’s work in your studio?  

I have paintings that I’ve collected over the years. There’s photography in our lounge area. I have a sculpture and some works on paper by Rick Bartow. We have a painting by Danielle Norris, who works here. I have a Jaune Quick-to-See Smith that I get to look at every day. Also, a lot of Corita Kent. Corita Kent was probably the first artist that I started collecting. I’ve slowly collected her works whenever I could find one. 

What’s the last thing you do before you leave the studio at the end of the day (besides turning off the lights)? What do you do right after 

I like to have a cup of coffee so that I can have energy when I get home. When I get into the car, the first thing I do is choose my soundtrack for my drive home. Yesterday was The Communards. I’m always listening to music, partially to listen to lyrics. It takes me back to different eras—the music is the trigger to what was happening socially and politically at the time, as well as personally. With The Communards, in the late ’80s, well, I graduated high school in 1990. I just got thinking about what was happening during that time. That’s my alone time. Then I get home and the kids come running. 

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