Crosscut: Matika Wilbur on photo road trip thru Indian Country

Matika Wilbur has logged 100,000 miles on her Honda Accord as she’s crisscrossed the country in an attempt to photograph all 566 federally-recognized Indian tribes. She’s been photographing for the past 17 months. She’s close to reaching her 200th tribe.

And when she’s asked about what she’s learned, what she didn’t anticipate encountering out on the road or what’s surprised her, she replies: “So much humanity.”

“I’ve been really welcomed and showered with such generosity,” Wilbur says in a telephone interview from California. She was on a short break from travelling and shooting to finish hand painting some of her gelatin prints.

“People have fed me. They’ve had parties for me. They’ve let me sleep on their floors. The Shinnecock (on Long Island, N.Y) had a traditional clam bake."