December 2, 2024  

Media Contacts:   
Matthew Vargas, Men’s Basketball Coach, 509-682-6771, mvargas@wvc.edu   
Dr. Kestrel Smith, WVC Omak American Indigenous Studies Program Chair, 509-422-7841, ksmith@wvc.edu   
Edith Gomez, WVC Omak Student Life and Diversity Coordinator, 509-422-7814, egomez@wvc.edu  
Marcine Miller, Public Information Office, Executive Director, 509-682-6582, mmiller2@wvc.edu   

 

Visual storyteller Matika Wilbur will be a guest speaker at the Native American Classic on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 12 p.m. in the Maguire Conference Center, Mish ee twie, at Wenatchee Valley College.  

Wilbur is a critically acclaimed social documentarian who belongs to the Swinomish and Tulalip peoples of coastal Washington. Project 562, her crowdfunded initiative to visit, engage, and photograph people from over 500 sovereign Tribal Nations in North America, is her fourth major creative venture elevating Native American identity and culture.  

Her book “Project 562: Changing The Way We See Native America” became a New York Times Bestseller, received praise from “There There” author Tommy Orange, and was longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal in 2023. 

Wilbur also co-hosts All My Relations, a podcast that explores what it means to be a Native person today and that invites guests from all over Indian Country to share their perspectives, stories, and to think through Indigeneity in all its complexities. 

An accomplished public speaker, Wilbur has delivered over 300 keynote speeches at such places as TED, Harvard, Yale, and Google. In November of 2023, Wilbur released her curriculum “A Visual Learning Guide To: Transform. Indigenize. Decolonize” in partnership with The National Education Association (NEA). Within five months, the curriculum was adopted in over 200 classrooms across the country. 

In 2024, Wilbur launched Tidelands in Seattle, a "creative hub for Indigenous storytelling." Tidelands centers Native scholarship, storytelling, and art by serving as an art gallery, photography space, podcast incubator, and community gathering space. 

The Native American Classic will continue on Dec. 7, with DJ Tee joining Jamerson Cheer and the rock band Yellowwolf for live music performances in Wells Hall Campus Theater at 7:30 p.m. The evening will feature: Cheer, a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes who has performed in the Native hip-hop community since 2006; Yellowwolf Band, a group comprised of members Marvin Starr of the Muckleshoot Tribe, Prescott Speedis of the Yakima Nation, and Vaughn Yellowwolf Jr. of the Colville Confederated Tribes; and Jamie Lee Thomas, a.k.a. DJ Tee, of the Nez Perce Tribe, who has placed in multiple DJ battles on the West Coast.  

These events are sponsored by the WVC Omak Red Road Association and WVC College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP). 

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 Wenatchee Valley College enriches North Central Washington by serving educational and cultural needs of communities and residents throughout the service area. The college is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion for all students and employees and provides high-quality transfer, liberal arts, professional/technical, basic skills and continuing education for students of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds. Visit our website, wvc.edu. 

Wenatchee Valley College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in employment and student enrollment. All programs are free from discrimination and harassment against any person because of race, creed, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a service animal by a person with a disability, age, parental status or families with children, marital status, religion, genetic information, honorably discharged veteran or military status or any other prohibited basis per RCW 49.60.030, 040 and other federal and state laws and regulations, or participation in the complaint process. 

The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies and Title IX compliance for both the Wenatchee and Omak campuses: 

• To report discrimination or harassment: Title IX Coordinator, Human Resources, Wenatchi Hall 2322M, (509) 682-6445, title9@wvc.edu. 

• To request disability accommodations: Student Access Manager, Wenatchi Hall 2133, (509) 682-6854, TTY/TTD: dial 711, sas@wvc.edu.