Two stories of Indigenous art and resilience

In 2012, photographer Matika Wilbur sold everything in her Seattle apartment and set off to document the 562 federally recognized indigenous tribes in the country. Over a decade and hundreds of thousands of miles later, she released a book called “Project 562.” We talked to Wilbur in June 2023 about her journey, her book, and her mission to provide Native Americans images that are more “useful, truthful, and beautiful.”

The Native American sketch comedy group, the 1491s, initially said "no" when the Oregon Shakespeare Festival approached them about writing a play. But eventually the five-member group relented, and tackled Native American history with humor in the play "Between Two Knees" in October of 2019. We listen back to a conversation from that time with Bobby Wilson, a member of the 1491s, and Robert Franklin, the Native American Student and Community Center at PSU, which sent students down to Ashland to see the play.