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The Spirit Moved Her
SIX QUESTIONS
By Molly Priesmeyer
Pioneer Press/Twin Cities.com, 2004

Heather C Matson always thought her animal spirit was the turtle. She has 12 box turtles that hang out in her back yard in the summer and hibernate in her basement during winter. Despite the fact that the turtle is associated with women, self-reliance and the earth, Matson struggled with her sense of self before fully discovering her passion and voice during a sweat lodge ceremony. It was there that she had a spiritual experience that led her to pursue her current photography project, "Chronicles of the Spirit," black-and-white images from the Badlands, Hawaii and South Dakota (focusing on the Lakota people), which Matson hopes will document a story of the earth and its native people.

1. What inspired you to document the world of the Lakota? I really needed some sort of therapy to help resolve the death of my grandmother. Part of it was not knowing much about her Ojibwe background. That's how I got interested in the Native American history. I visited some friends who lived in Eagle Butte, S.D., and was able to spend time with the Lakota. I did a sweat there, and my experience was that my grandmother visited me and told me things are OK and what I'm doing I should be doing.

2. Were you a spiritual person prior to that experience? I was always spiritual but never religious. The night my grandmother passed away, I was standing outside waiting for the coroner, and there was an owl hooting outside of her house. My grandmother loved owls; she had owl sculptures and paintings. I felt as if my grandmother was saying goodbye because I didn't get a chance to.

3. How has the Lakota tribe responded to your images? They absolutely love them. Jerry Farle, a Lakota shaman who will be in the upcoming show, said to me, "I'm very honored that you'd do this photograph. But if I knew you were taking the picture, I would've sucked in a little more."

4. What do you hope the images reveal? I've been trying to shed light on the culture of the Lakota and how they've adapted their culture into contemporary life, and not focus on the ailments the community is facing.

5. What does "Chronicles of the Spirit" mean? It's all of the different facets of this story I'm trying to tell. It doesn't matter if it's Lakota, if it's Hawaiians, if it's ancient people. It's still history and culture that all come together, and it's all made of people.

6. Do you have any plans to travel elsewhere? I'd like to go to Sweden and learn more about that side of my family's history, since I don't know much about that side, either. But from what I hear, it's a lot like Minnesota!