Hello there. I'm Timbidermis, and this is NPR's Book of the Day. There are a lot of things I love about reading. But one of the greatest joys is finding an author who's trying to do or say something different with their work, and who exposes us to new ideas, characters, or ways of thinking. That's precisely what Matica Wilbur's new book, Project 562,

Changing the Way we see Native America, aims to do.

Wilbur set forth on a year's long journey to document Native American life.

After traveling hundreds of thousands of miles over many years,

she presents us with what she found,

a beautiful, joyous celebration of the vastness of Native American life. She spoke about the book and what she learned

while making it with NPR's Melissa Block. In the U.S., national security news can feel far away

from daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.

On our new show, Sources and Methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,

helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Say hello to Matika Wilbur. Oh, hello. Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here.

She's a photographer based in Seattle. I'm from the Swinamish and Tallalup tribes here in Washington

State. My Indian name is Sautzai. It means she who teaches. It's a fitting name. About 10 years ago,

Wilbur set out to photograph members of all of the then-562 federally recognized Native American tribes in the U.S.

So with Kickstarter backing, she spent the next decade traveling 600,000 miles on her quest.

Here are just a few voices of those she met along the way.

Autumn Harry, Minanita. No, Kuiui Papanadaway.

My name is Autumn Harry. I am a member of the Pirmalake Paiute tribe here in northern Nevada,

and I am Paiute in Navajo.

Hello, my name is Ethan, and my Unungalach, and I am Paiute in Navajo. Hello, my name is Ethan, and my Unangach name is Kongalaj.

...