Decolonizing Sexuality: Two Spirit Portraits from Project 562

Selected Works by Matika Wilbur September 23-October 10, 2020

The exhibition currently at the CWU Museum is called Decolonizing Sexuality, which features a selection of portraits and reflections of Two Spirit individuals and their personal stories photographed by Matika Wilbur (Swinomish/Tulalip). The term ‘Two Spirit’ is a kind of pan-Native term used to describe gender fluidity, a variance from traditional masculine or feminine physicality and performance.

Shattering the Veil: Reclaiming Female Indigenous Identities (Dean Hall Lobby)

Votes for Women: Portraits of Persistence (Window on Central)

The story of women's suffrage is a story of voting rights, of inclusion in and exclusion  from the franchise, and of our civic development as a nation. Votes for Women: A  Portrait of Persistence, a poster exhibition from the Smithsonian, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment and explores the complexity of the women's  suffrage movement and the relevance of this history to Americans' lives today. 

The crusade for women's suffrage is one of the longest reform movements in American  history. Between 1832 and 1920, women citizens organized for the right to vote,  agitating first in their states or territories and also, simultaneously, through petitioning  for a federal amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  

Based on the National Portrait Gallery exhibition of the same name, Votes for Women seeks to expand visitors’ understanding of the suffrage movement in the United  States. The poster exhibition addresses women's political activism, explores the racism  that challenged universal suffrage, and documents the ratification of the Nineteenth  Amendment which prohibits the government from denying U.S. citizens the right to vote  on the basis of gender. It also touches upon the suffrage movement's relevance to  current conversations on voting and voting rights across America.

Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence is organized by the Smithsonian Institution  Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery. This  project received support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative. 

The Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, Because of Her Story, is one of  the country’s most ambitious undertakings to research, collect, document display and  share the compelling story of women. It will deepen our understanding of women’s  contributions to the nation and the world. More information about the initiative is  available at womenshistory.si.edu.