An Inside Perspective

For Wilbur, who is of the Swinomish (SWIN-uh-mish) and Tulalip (tuh-LAY-lup) peoples in coastal Washington State, the project started with a dream. After earning a bachelor of fine arts in photography, she worked as a commercial photographer in Los Angeles and then traveled through South America documenting people from Indigenous Nations. One night, while she was in Peru, she says her grandmother appeared to her in a dream, urging her to “help your people. Be who you were born to be.”

Wilbur, now 37, took this vision as a sign to return home to Washington. She began teaching high school and college photography. She was struck by the one-dimensional stereotypes of Native Americans that appear in textbooks and the mainstream media. 

Soon the idea for Project 562 was born. Wilbur decided to create a collection of photographs and interviews that accurately depict contemporary Native Americans. “We walk in two worlds as young, Native people,” she explains. “We learn to navigate with a moccasin on one foot and a tennis shoe on the other.” 

Wilbur is one of the Swinomish (SWIN-uh-mish) and Tulalip (tuh-LAY-lup) peoples in coastal Washington state. She studied photography in college, then worked as a commercial photographer in Los Angeles. Later, she traveled around South America to document Indigenous Nations there. One night in Peru, she had a dream that her grandmother encouraged her to “help your people. Be who you were born to be.”

Wilbur took the dream as a sign to return home to Washington. She began teaching photography to high school and college students. She was bothered by the incorrect representations of Native Americans in textbooks and the media. Soon her idea for Project 562 was born. Wilbur decided to create a collection of photos and interviews of real contemporary Native Americans. “We walk in two worlds as young, Native people,” says Wilbur, who is now 37. “We learn to navigate with a moccasin on one foot and a tennis shoe on the other.”

Wilbur photographs her subjects, who all volunteer to model, on Indigenous land. They wear accessories and clothing that are important to their identity. Wilbur also interviews her subjects, asking about their lives and traditions.

Wilbur’s 2018 Coast Salish Canoe Journey, top image, shows people in two canoes. Wilbur places the viewer in the action between the vessels. Her composition emphasizes the designs painted on the right canoe as it glides diagonally through the space. 

The portrait above features Darkfeather Ancheta, her nephew Eckos Chartraw-Ancheta, and her sister Bibiana Ancheta at Washington’s Tulalip Bay. Wilbur says, 

“I imagined these women as protectors of the bay and protectors of our children. I wanted to make an image that represented the way I feel about this place.” The women place their hands on the child’s chest as he faces the viewer. How does Wilbur show the passing of traditions from one generation to the next through her subjects’ poses?

Wilbur’s subjects all volunteer to model in her photos. She photographs them on Indigenous land. They wear accessories and clothing that are important to their identities. Wilbur also interviews her subjects about their lives and traditions.

Her 2018 Coast Salish Canoe Journey, top image, shows people in two canoes. Viewers might feel like they are in the action between the boats. She draws attention to the traditional designs painted on the right canoe. It appears to glide diagonally through the space.

Wilbur made the portrait above at Tulalip Bay in Washington. It features a woman named Darkfeather Ancheta, her nephew Eckos Chartraw-Ancheta, and her sister Bibiana Ancheta. “I imagined these women as protectors of the bay and protectors of our children,” Wilbur says. “I wanted to make an image that represented the way I feel about this place.” The women’s hands are on the child’s chest. He faces the viewer. Their poses suggest the passing of traditions from one generation to the next.