Photos Show Today’s Native Americans

Photos Show Today’s Native Americans

Matika Wilbur has a goal that will take her across the United States. She plans to photograph every federally recognized Native American tribe in the country.

She hopes that her photographs will help end the many stereotypes² Americans and others worldwide have of native people.

“When you see us represented in mass media, you see Pocahontas, Dances with Wolves and Twilight,” Ms. Wilbur said. “What you won’t see is doctors and lawyers and contemporary people living in the present.”

Her mission is called “Project 562.” That number represents the number of federally recognized tribes in the U.S. when the project began. Now, there are 566.

Ms. Wilbur herself is a Native American woman of the Swinomish and Tulalip tribes.

She has already been on the road for more than three years. Her journey, she said, has helped raise the spirits of young Native Americans. She said they are used to seeing stories linking Native people with poverty, alcoholism, lower life expectancy³, and other social problems. 

Ms. Wilbur is a high school teacher as well as a photographer. She hopes to see her images in educational materials in the future. She also hopes her photos will help reshape how young people, like her former high school students, feel about themselves.

“There’s something in this collective consciousness that still believes that Indians are lesser⁴ human beings, savage⁵, that we’re conquered,” Ms. Wilbur said. She said false and outdated⁶ ideas of Native Americans make them feel bad about themselves.

Native American youth have the highest suicide levels in the country. Ms. Wilbur said she hopes her photographs of a diverse people will not only inform, but also uplift.

“Hopefully we can create something beautiful and positive, something that shows stories of hope and endurance,” she said.

Words in this Story

stereotype¹ - n. an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic

journey - n. an act of traveling from one place to another

savage - adj. wild; like an animal

conquer - v. to take control of (a country, city, etc.) through the use of force

diverse - adj. made up of people or things that are different from each other

endurance - n. the ability to do something difficult for a long time

1 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

2 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

4 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

5 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

6 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。