Behind the Story: Writing about Tidelands and the Power of Indigenous Leadership
Matika Wilbur holds a copy of her photography project and book, Project 562, in the Tidelands gallery. (Photo by GrowingBoyMedia)
Writing about Tidelands was one of those rare assignments that felt anchored in purpose from the start.
Tidelands, a multi-use gallery and cultural space near the Seattle waterfront, is the brainchild of Matika Wilbur. a longtime community advocate, matika is known for her expansive work on Project 562, which documents contemporary Native identities across the United States.
i interviewed matika for a CASCADE PBS ARTICLE I WROTE IN APRIL. During our interview, I was in awe of her ability to embody both strength and ease while tending to the many needs of her staff and family. She breastfed her baby, guided staff, welcomed workshop participants, all while continuing our conversation with real presence and refreshing honesty. It was a moment that could have easily overwhelmed anyone, especially with a literal human latched to them, but Matika moved through it with remarkable grace.
Her vision is one of community, reciprocity and collective uplift. From the very beginning, it was clear that Tidelands was more than a gallery. The challenge in writing about it was distilling its intertwined elements— the gallery, boutique, podcast hub, and community offerings— into a story that honored the deeper purpose behind it: building a Native-led home in the city where culture isn’t just displayed, but lived.
(Photo by GrowingBoyMedia)
“With the addition of a boutique, the vibe is highly curated: Anthropologie meets inherited wisdom, where rich Indigenous culture seeps through every object and image in the store.”
Seattle Restored, a program that supports local artists by activating unused storefronts, played an important role in helping make a space like Tidelands possible and also sponsored the article. When the piece went live, I felt grateful for that support and grateful to have been trusted to tell this story. Writing it reminded me why this work matters: storytelling can illuminate the futures and cultural ecosystems our communities are actively creating. If you haven’t read it yet, you can find the full piece on Cascade PBS.
