Frank S. Matsura: Portraits from the Borderland

February 15, 2025 – September 6, 2025

At the dawn of the 20thcentury, the Indigenous peoples of North America regularly faced narratives that they would soon disappear, be it from artists, academics or politicians. Yet Japanese immigrant and photographer Frank Matsura (1873-1913) approached his artistry differently. He arrived in the U.S. in 1901 and made Okanogan County, a rural expanse of High Desert in northern Washington state, his home. There, he grew strong relationships with the area’s tribal communities. The resulting body of work includes some of the most visually powerful and nuanced images of Indigenous people from the era: conceptually sophisticated and collaborative, revealing the Syilx (Okanogan) people effectively adapting to a changing time. 

Photo by Frank Matsura