Biography

Matika Wilbur belongs to the Swinomish and Tulalip Tribes of Coast Salish People in Washington State. She integrates fine art and social justice as a long-form photo documentarian, writer, filmmaker, podcaster, public speaker and the founder and photographer of Project 562 with a mission to Change the Way We See Native America. Since Project 562’s genesis in 2011 Matika has journeyed 400,000 miles to create images of Native peoples from more than 500 sovereign nations, visiting and photographing Indigenous folks from all 50 states. Resulting in a unparalleled and inspired body of imagery and cultural representations of Native Peoples to counteract the relentlessly insipid, one-dimensional stereotypes circulating in mainstream media, historical textbooks and the culture industry. Her  book from Ten Speed Press a Penguin Random House Publication will highlight her fourth consecutive project, Project 562.  Soulfully committed to dynamically engaging Native communities through her international influence Matika is at the forefront of a movement for Native-led content visibility though her sophisticated networking, presentations at prominent institutions, from the CIA to Harvard, publications in national syndications like Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, NBC, The Washington Post, and Elle Magazine, and world-wide exhibitions debunking racist policies and diluted, toxic mainstream stereotypes. Matika is a National Geographic Explorer, a 2020 Women’s Foto Award recipient from Leica and longlisted for a 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in  Nonfiction. She currently co-hosts the popular podcast All My Relations, which invites guests to explore the connections between land, creatural relatives, and one another.