in North Carolina for the first time. She said it was a powerful experience she 'll never forget. We talked about how to me, being a real Cherokee means I can go to those places and feel a connection with the land and know my ancestors stood there thousands of years ago, she said. This is something that runs through me, and that connection makes me a real Cherokee person, being able to say that with full authority and full knowledge. I had n't felt it until I was there. Creating a legacy for Native youth The concept of identity is fluid from person to person and generation to generation, Wilbur said. Some Native Americans lost their language and traditions through assimilation in American Indian boarding schools. Others are fighting for federal recognition of their tribes under the vast regulatory criteria of the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. The project has prompted her to ponder what being a Native American will mean for future generations. Code talker Chester Nez and the tragic history of native language I 've recently come to recognize that it really is about the actions, the way we choose to live our lives on a daily basis, is -LRB- what's -RRB- really going to control the outcome of what happens to our people, Wilbur explained. She has high hopes for Project 562's legacy. This year, a second Kickstarter campaign surpassed her $54,000