Washington woman takes photos of all federally recognized tribes [Video]

TULALIP, Wash. — Photographer Matika Wilbur knows the power of a great image. As a member of the Swinomish and Tulalip tribes, she’s always believed she could refocus how Native Americans are portrayed.

But when she couldn’t find any contemporary representation of and by fellow Indigenous people, she set out to make it herself.

“We needed something in the contemporary context to teach our children about who we are. And there just wasn’t a book like that, that represented many tribes made by Native people, for Native people,” said Wilbur.

So in 2012, Wilbur sold her belongings and hit the road on an ambitious quest: to document a Native American person from every federally recognized tribe across all 50 states.

“I imagined when I started this project that I would do it in three years. I thought I would go to two tribes a week, plus large gatherings. …