GRIOTS REPUBLIC - An Urban Black Travel Mag - Jan 2016

Juanita Toledo (Pueblo of Jemez), 2015
dropouts and the disproportionally
higher rates in which Native women are
sexually assaulted.
“I’m just this girl from the Res exposing
truths from the Res,” she said. “I think
that it [the exhibition] has gotten a lot
of exposure because the people need
that.”
In an upcoming exhibit, debuting at
Harvard on April 28, 2016, Wilbur will
honor Native women and “give life to
some of the beautiful, powerful, and
profound women in the community
working hard to maintain our
connection to the mother earth.” There
will also be a small book that will be
published to coincide with the exhibit to
honor Native women. Other projects
include documenting the work of
the Sierra Seeds Company; a Native
company cultivating Native seed
“Our identity is primarily in the land
and when we respect the mother we
also honor and respect our women,” she
said. “What I found all over the country
are stories of people raping and
pillaging the mothers. Lack of access to
clean water, and all of the ways that we
are exploiting the mother earth, I think
is directly connected to the way we
exploit our native women.”
Through her art, Wilbur also aims to
expand the education of Native and
non- Native people. It’s crucial to not
only to reverse negative images, but
alleviate the pressure of most Native
people who find themselves being the
only representative of their culture in
most educational settings. “A lot of
native people don’t go to school
prepared to be an ambassador or
educator to those who are supposed
to be educating them,” she said.
Though her mission is selfless, she did
note the physical effects the project
has taken on her. “It’s really hard
what I’m doing; the toll that it has
taken on my body to live on people’s
couches and in an RV for three
years,” she said. “I developed
allergies, I’ve aged, I don’t get to work
out as much as I would like to, but I
see it as there isn’t any other option.
We need it. People’s minds have to
change about Native America in
order to affect public policy, and
that’s something I can do.”