REVIEW – Matika Wilbur’s Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America
Posted under: Elise (Eesie) Cuba, Webster University – Saint Louis, Missouri
REVIEW – Matika Wilbur’s Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America
Some people in the United States and beyond have a very narrow idea of what being Indigenous means and what it looks like. Media representation is fairly limited to stereotypes that caricaturize Indigenous people as a monolithic culture where all members are wise and stoic, often serving only to aid white protagonists in their personal actualization. Characters like Tonto in Lone Ranger embody the “loyal Indian” trope, while Little Big Man subverts the “Indian sage” caricature prevalent in many American Westerns. In Disney’s Pocahontas, Pocahontas embodies the image of the young, beautiful “Indian princess.” These are caricatures; one dimensional representations of peoples and cultures that are made to play certain roles, fulfill certain plots, and drive certain agendas. These tropes are both genuine falsehoods and actively harmful to Indigenous people, who often lack the opportunities to tell their own stories following a long U.S. history of genocide, colonization, forced relocation, disenfranchisement, and a host of related human rights violations.
Matika Wilbur’s Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America[1] challenges these depictions, creating space for Indigenous people to take back their autonomy and choose how to represent themselves. The subjects of this photo project chose where they would be photographed, what they would wear, and which words were used for the photo captions. The narrative was put back in their hands. Project 562 features photos of people engaging in cultural ceremonies and practices; there were photos of people in their homes, at their jobs, farming, posing, dancing, in plain clothes, in cultural dress, and in whatever context they wanted to portray themselves in. This presentation of Indigenous people enjoying their human rights to enjoy art, religion, belief, culture, and expression inspires a sense of both joy and admiration. The project’s focus on individual choice and freedom allows Indigenous people to represent themselves in the contexts they find to be most important. Indigenous people aren’t the stereotypes often assigned to them; they aren’t limited to the roles forced upon them. Throughout the United States, they are neighbors, friends, coworkers, students, and family. They may live on a reservation – or not; they are old, middle-aged, young; they may be queer; they may hold another racial identity; they may be women, men, or another gender identity; they may be public figures or private people. Indigenous people are not a monolith. Not as individuals, and not as a group.
Project 562 is an effort to represent all 562 Indigenous nations recognized by the U.S. government when the project started. These include a wide variety of groups with their own cultural practices, beliefs, and histories – from the Kānaka Maoli in Hawai’i to Aleuts in Alaska, from the Navajo in the Southwest and the Arapaho of the Great Plains to members of the Haudenosaunee confederacy in the Northeast. As of September 2025, there are 574 federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Native Villages in the United States (U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d.). This number doesn’t include Indigenous nations that are not recognized by the federal government; more than 200 unrecognized tribes face additional challenges without federal recognition and ensuing aid (O’Neill, 2021). Although it is not possible to represent every Indigenous person and culture in one photo project, Wilbur’s approach was intentionally broad in scope, inclusive, and aimed at breaking down the stereotypes of Indigenous people that permeate Western media.
Project 562 is a wonderful way to widen perspectives of Indigenous people and to counter harmful tropes. Reflecting on this project as a white American, I had never met someone whose primary racial identity was Native American until I started college in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Like many Americans, my ideas about Indigenous people were not shaped by real-life interactions, but rather by media representations of people I simply did not know. Many people live in such ignorance, reinforced by the suppression of certain history lessons in the U.S. public education system (Dhenin, 2025) and budget cuts targeting the preservation of Indigenous history (Rickert, 2025). This lack of accurate information and personal interaction can be a barrier to fostering empathy, supporting ethical and fair legislation, engaging in fair and unbiased judicial procedures, fostering inclusive and truthful media, and more. It is difficult to understand Indigenous communities in the United States, for instance, without acknowledging the human rights abuses their communities suffered at the hands of the U.S. government. These include genocidal violence, sexual abuse, forced assimilation, disappearances, displacement, loss of property, disenfranchisement, arbitrary arrest and incarceration, and other abuses that continue to impact Indigenous communities today (see Native American Rights Fund, n.d.).
Yet human rights abuses, past and present, are only one part of Project 562. This project allows Indigenous people to tell their stories how they choose – whether that be reflecting on settler colonialism and the ways they have overcome oppression, or focusing on another aspect of their lived experiences – including their successes and joys. This project breaks down stereotypes and replaces them with rich portrayals of individuals and the diverse cultures of Indigenous nations. Wilbur’s work puts Indigenous people in charge of their own narratives, combined in a genuinely beautiful collection of photos that is both educational and compelling.
References
Dhenin, M. (2025, May 21). Educators Fight Suppression to Teach America’s Real History. Yes! Solutions Journalism. Retrieved from https://www.yesmagazine.org/political-power/2025/05/21/teaching-accurate-black-latinx-history.
Native American Rights Fund. (n.d.). Issues. Retrieved from https://narf.org/issues/.
O’Neill, E. (2019, April 17). Unrecognized Tribes Struggle Without Federal Aid During Pandemic. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2021/04/17/988123599/unrecognized-tribes-struggle-without-federal-aide-during-pandemic.
Rickert, L. (2025, April 21). Trump Cuts to NEH Funding Threaten to Erase Indian Boarding School History. Native News Online. Retrieved from https://nativenewsonline.net/opinion/trump-cuts-to-neh-funding-threaten-to-erase-native-boarding-school-history.
U.S. Department of the Interior. (n.d.). Indian Affairs – About Us. Retrieved from https://www.bia.gov/about-us.
Wilbur, M. (n.d.). Project 562. Homepage. Retrieved from https://www.project562.com.
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[1] This photo exhibition was on view at Webster University’s Kooyumjian Gallery from February 10-April 22, 2025. Wilbur is a Swinomish and Tulalip social documentarian whose crowdfunded Project 562 engaged with people from more than 562 sovereign tribal nations in North America. To learn more, visit https://www.project562.com.