EDUCATION
1993 Master of Fine Arts (Painting and Drawing concentration), Washington State University
1991 Master of Arts in Teaching (Fine Art), Gonzaga University
1983 Bachelor of Arts (Native American Studies, Studio Art concentrations), The Evergreen State College
EMPLOYMENT
2010—Present Associate Professor of Art History & Drawing Coordinator, Department of Art, Washington State University , Pullman, WA
2021—Present Coordinator, Native American Arts, Education and Outreach, College of Arts and Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
2010—2018 Coordinator, American Indian Studies, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
2010—2013 Director, Plateau Center for American Indian Studies, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
2002—2010 Director, Plateau Cultural Studies, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane,WA
2005 Adjunct Faculty, Department of History, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA
1999—2002 Associate Professor, Fine Arts, Seattle University, Seattle, WA
1995—1996 Visiting Instructor, Art, Wenatchee Valley College (Summer Sessions), Omak, WA
1994—1999 Assistant Professor, Fine Arts, Seattle University, Seattle, WA
1993—1994 Lecturer, Fine Arts, Seattle University, Seattle, WA
CURATED EXHIBITIONS (selected)
2027 Creating Together Exhibition Team, Curatorial Consultant, High Desert Museum, Bend, OR
2025 Colville Tribal Youth + Clyfford Still Museum, Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO (September 19, 2025–May 10, 2026), curatorial consultant with Bailey Placzek, Nicole Cromartie, and tribal youth collaborators
2023 Here in a Homemade Forest: Common Reading Connections, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU, Washington State University, Pullman, WA (August 22, 2023–March 9, 2024)
Frank S. Matsura: Portraits from the Borderland, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane, WA (April 29–November 26), traveling exhibition supported by Art Bridges, co-curated with Anne-Claire Mitchell
2021 Portraits of the Plateau: A Native American Perspective, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Washington State University, Pullman, WA (March 9–August 14)
2019 The Body: Power, Meaning & Representation in Contemporary Art, Nanci Chacon, Department of Art Gallery 2, Washington State University (February)
2017 Reservation X: Three Plateau Artists, RYAN! Feddersen, Carly Feddersen, Lee Sekaquaptewa, Richmond Art Collective, Spokane, WA, co-curated with Anne-Claire Mitchell (February 2–23)
2011 Lasting Heritage: The Great Basin and Plateau, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane, WA (December–January 15, 2014)
2010 Mestizo: Collections & Cultural Fusions, Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Spokane, WA (July 31–January 15, 2011)
2009 Plateau Celebrations: Transitions in the Indian Reservation Era, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane, WA (September 26–February 1, 2010)
EXHIBITIONS (selected)
2024 Close – In: 2nd Inland Northwest Juried Landscape Art Exhibition (group exhibition), Jundt Gallery, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA (June 1–August 24)
2021 Hands Across the Water: 25+1 Exhibition (group exhibition), The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA (November 13–January 29)
2020 Reservation Landscapes: Recent Paintings (solo exhibition), Helen Alexander South Gallery, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane, WA (February–April)
2019 Layers, Land and Labor (group exhibition), Locker Gallery, Washington State University (July 12–Aug. 23)
2018 Close – In: 1st Inland Northwest Juried Landscape Art Exhibition (group exhibition), Jundt Gallery, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA (May 26–August 11)
2016 SGiGialtx @20: Building Upon the Past, Visioning into the Future, Longhouse Education and Cultural Center 20th Anniversary Exhibition (group exhibition), The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA, (March 31–May 11)
2015 Not Vanishing: Contemporary Expressions in Indigenous Art, 1977-2015 (group exhibition), Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA (October 10–January 3)
PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS - INVITED (selected)
2024 Our Mr. Matsura: Japanese Immigrant Photography, Settler Colonialism, and Native Survivance in North-Central Washington, Panelist, Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS) Conference, Seattle, WA (April 25)
Our Mr. Matsura: A Japanese Immigrant Photographer in American Borderlands, Panelist, The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane, WA (March 14)
2023 Forging New Paths: Rethinking Community Engagement with Collections, Panelist, American Alliance of Museums Annual Conference, Denver, CO (May 19)
2022 Critical Communities: The Colville Confederated Tribes and the Clyfford Still Museum, Panelist, The Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO (November 17)
2021 Worth D. Griffin and Frontier Portrait Fantasies, Panelist, Settler Memory and Memorialization: Monumental Challenges and Problematic Public Art, Western History Association annual conference, Portland, OR (October 18-30)
Into the Archives: Photography from the Colville Reservation, Clyfford Still Museum and the Colorado Photographic Arts Center, 2021 Denver Month of Photography, Denver, CO (March 18)
The Nespelem Art Colony, Native American Studies Spring Speaker Series, Resources for Research About the Plateau. Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA (February)
2020 Native American Women’s Arts and Artists, Native American Day, Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, MI (October 12)
Settler Memory and Memorialization, Challenges and Problematic Public Art, 113th Pacific Coast Branch American Historical Association annual conference, Portland, OR (August-postponed COVID pandemic)
2019 Capturing History: The Photography of Charles A. Libby, Frank S. Matsura and Frank Palmer, Consultant, and Respondent, KSPS Public Television, Spokane, WA, (premiered on PBS November 11th, 2019)
A Local Hero: Frank Matsura in the Okanogan, Colville Tribal Museum, Coulee Dam, WA (July)
Resurrecting the Dead: Contemporary Critiques of Edward S. Curtis and Frank Matsura’s Photographic Legacies, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, The University of Oregon, Eugene, OR (May 18)
Reframing Landscapes Roundtable: Perspectives from the Plateau, Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation Spring Symposium, Washington State University (March)
Framing Culture in Two Takes: Edward S. Curtis vs. Frank Matsura, Presenter, Wenatchee Valley Museum, Wenatchee, WA (January 24)
2018 From Effigy Pipe to Punching Bags, Panelist, Southeastern Museum Conference, Jackson, MS (October 9)
Western Science and Eastern Spirit: The Photographs of Frank Matsura and Edward S. Curtis, Presenter, High Desert Museum, Bend, OR (October 23)
Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts at 25, Moderator, exhibition talk with James Lavadour and Rebecca Dobkins, PhD, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Washington State University (September 27)
The Native American West: A Case Study of the Columbia Plateau, Presenter, NEH Summer Institute for College and University Teachers, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane, WA (May 4)
2017 Indian Summers—The Nespelem Art Colony 1937–1941, KSPS Public Television, Spokane, WA, Consultant and respondent (premiered on PBS May 11th 2017)
2015 Clyfford Still; The Colville Reservation and Beyond, 1934-1939, Presenter, One Artist at a Time Lecture Series, Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO (June)
Clyfford Still; The Colville Reservation and Beyond, 1934-1939, Keynote Address, 9th Annual Research Symposium, Lewis-Clark State College, Lewiston, ID (May 6)
2014 Challenges and Opportunities: Creating Digital Indigenous Cultural Heritage Resources, Northwest Archivists Conference, Spokane, WA (May 31)
2013 Shadowmen: Frank Matsura and Edward Curtis, Matsura Centennial Project, Okanogan County Historical Society, Okanogan, WA (June 23)
Spokane’s Original Economy: Tribal Traditions at Spokane Falls, Regional Economy Day, Leadership Spokane. Spokane, WA (October 4)
The Period and Place of Mourning Dove, Panelist, Mourning Dove Symposium, Wenatchee Valley College, Omak, WA (November 7)
2012 Coyote in the Henhouse: New Interpretations New Partnerships for Tribal Interpretations, National Trust for Historic Preservation Annual Conference, Spokane, WA (October 31)
Like Salmon Breaching Academic Dams, Panelist, Native American Indigenous Studies Organization Annual Conference, Uncasville, CT (June 3–6)
Water in Native Plateau Culture, Lecturer, The Washington Center at The Evergreen State College, The Palouse Project Summer Institute, Washington State University, Pullman, WA (May 11)
The Nespelem Art Colony: An Artist’s Interpretation, Visiting lecturer and artist, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA (February 16–17)
2011 Best of Both Worlds: Collaborations Between Museums & Indigenous Groups, Panelist, Western Museum Association Annual Meeting, Honolulu, HI (September 25)
2010 NAGPRA: Native American Perspectives from Inside of the Museum, Panelist, Western Museum Association Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (October 19)
2009 Joe Feddersen: Pattern Recognition, Keynote Address, The Evergreen State College Art Gallery Olympia, WA (November 12)
Plateau Connects, Moderator: Panel Presentation Washington Museum Association Annual Conference, Washington State University Pullman, Washington (June 12)
PUBLICATIONS
2025 Frank S. Matsura: Our Last Frontier Photographer, Editor and contributor, PA Press/Chronicle Books, New York, New York
2023 Jeffrey Gibson: They Teach Love, From the Collections of the Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, catalog essay, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU
2015 The Fourth Generation: The Sustainability of Native American Art Education, John Reyhner, Teaching Indigenous Students: Honoring Place, Community, and Culture, University of Oklahoma Press
SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY (selected)
2024 Creating Together (includes programming post exhibition opening 2027), National Endowment for the Humanities Public Programs Implementation Grant, , Curatorial Consultant, High Desert Museum, Bend, OR
In the Spirit: Contemporary Native Arts, Juror, Washington State Historical Society, Tacoma, WA (May 6-June 21)
2022 You Select: A Community Curated Exhibition, Consultant, The Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO (February–August)
2022—Present Crow’s Shadow Institute for the Arts, Board of Directors, President,, Pendleton, OR
2021—Present Wenatchee Valley College, Foundation Board, Board Member, Omak, WA
2021 Decade of Discovery: Clyfford Still in Denver, Consultant, Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO (October–March, 2022)
2020—Present. National Park Service Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Consultation Grant, Consultant, High Desert Museum. Bend, OR
2019—Present National Endowment for the Humanities Creating Together Planning Grant, Consultant, High Desert Museum, Bend, OR
2021—Present National Endowment for the Humanities Media Projects Development Grant, Consultant and Respondent, Center for Independent Documentary, Our Mr. Matsura, Directed by Beth Harrington
2012—Present The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Bill Holm Center Advisory Board, Board Member, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
2021 Repositioning Native American Art in the 21st Century Museum, Invited Workshop Participant, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
2018 Washington State Arts Commission Outdoor Sculpture Review Committee, Committee Member, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Beyond the Frame: Inland Bounty, The Works of Edward S. Curtis in the Columbia River Basin, Consultant and respondent, Wenatchee Valley Museum, Wenatchee, WA
Ethnology Exhibition Re-installation Community Review Committee, Committee Member, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
2017 Artist Trust, James W. Ray Awards Review and Selection Committee, Panelist, Seattle, WA
2016 National Endowment for the Humanities, Indigenous Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Grant Program Review Panel, Washington DC
Institute of Museum and Library Services, Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services Review Panel, Washington DC (also 2014 and 2012)
2010—2014 House of Welcome Longhouse Advisory Board, Board Member, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
2012 National Native Creative Development Grant Program Awards Committee, Committee Member, Longhouse Education and Cultural Center, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
2012 In the Spirit: Northwest Native Arts Market & Festival, Juror, Washington State History Museum, Tacoma, WA
2011 Native North American Art, 2nd Edition, Janet C. Berlo and Ruth B. Phillips, Oxford University Press, Reviewer
National Native Master Artist Initiative Awards Committee, Longhouse Education and Cultural Center, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA (also 2010)
Painted Face Northwest American Indian Art Show, Juror, Annual Coeur d’Alene Tribe Julyamish Celebration, Coeur d’Alene, ID
2010 The Rasmuson Foundation Arts and Culture Programs Individual Artist Awards Committee, Committee Member, Anchorage, Alaska
What is the Community Leader’s Role in the Arts & Culture?, Facilitator, Leadership Spokane Annual Arts Day, Martin Woldson Fox Theatre, Spokane, WA
2009 Margaret A. Cargill Foundation Native American Program Advisory Committee, Committee Member, Seattle, WA
GRANTS MANAGEMENT (selected)
2016—2017 Native Creative Development Grant, Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, Reimagining the Nespelem Art Colony: Painting, The Evergreen State College Longhouse, Colville Indian Reservation, WA
2010—2016 Plateau People`s Web Portal—Digitize and Create Online Access to Objects of Native American Collections, National Endowment for the Humanities, Co Principal Investigator (Lead Principal Investigator: Kimberly Christen, Ph.D.), Washington State University, Pullman, WA