Sepia Saturday: A Modern Day Edward S. Curtis
In my somewhat-sporadic
Sepia Saturday posts,
I’ve sometimes featured
images of Native Americans
by Edward S. Curtis, taken a
century ago.
Edward S. Curtis Photograph of Si Wa Wata Wa, Zuni tribe - from the Edward S. Curtis Collection, Library of Congress |
He was funded by J.P.
Morgan, a wealthy industrialist,
to photograph indigenous
peoples before
their way of life was lost
forever.
Photograph of Buffalo Dancers - from the Edward S. Curtis Collection, Library of Congress |
Now, a young photographer
named Matika Wilbur,
a member of the Swinomish
and Tulalip tribes
Hand-tinted Matika Wilbur image from her website |
of coastal Washington, is
setting off
on a 3-year venture to
create images of tribal peoples
from each of the 564
federally-enrolled tribes.
Her work is superb and
explores the poignant topic
of what it means to be “Indian.”
Unlike Curtis, she doesn't have a wealthy industrialist bankrolling her.
She's cobbling together moneys from individual donors and various grants.
I helped her reach her seed
money goal on Kickstarter,
But if you’re interested in
helping her realize her vision,
Please visit her website and
contact her.
Comments
Her work is quite wonderful. I hope people click on the "We Are One People" link and not stop on her more commercial work.
She'll have her work cut out for her in California alone because we have over 100 recognized nations. At one time I believe there were over 500.