Gabrielle Tayac facts for kids

Gabrielle Tayac is a historian and a curator. She works at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. This museum teaches people about Native American cultures. Gabrielle is part of the Piscataway Indian Nation. This is a Native American tribe in southern Maryland. She works hard to protect Indigenous land and water rights. She also helps make sure the U.S. government keeps its promises to tribes.

Early Life and Education

Gabrielle Tayac was born in Greenwich Village, New York City. She went to Cornell University and studied social work. She also learned about American Indian cultures there. Later, she earned her PhD from Harvard University. Her uncle is Chief Billy Redwing Tayac of the Piscataway Nation.

Working at the Museum

Gabrielle Tayac started working at the National Museum of the American Indian in 1999. At first, she was a research consultant. Before that, she helped create school lessons. These lessons taught about the many different Native American peoples. They also covered important issues like intellectual property.

Gabrielle helped build the museum's education department. Her research was very important. It helped shape how the museum teaches visitors.

After the museum opened in 2004, Gabrielle became a full-time curator. A curator is someone who plans and organizes museum exhibits. She helped create one of the first exhibits. It was called "Our Lives: Contemporary Life and Identity."

In 2007, she was the only curator for an exhibit. This exhibit was called "Return to a Native Place: Native Peoples of the Chesapeake Region." She also helped with a traveling exhibit. It was named "IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas." Her newest exhibit, "Native New York: Where Nations Rise," was planned to open in 2019.

Standing Up for Rights

Gabrielle Tayac is very active in fighting for Native American civil rights. She also works for tribal sovereignty. This means tribes have the right to govern themselves. She helped start the League of Indigenous Sovereign Nations. This group connects Native peoples across North and South America. Today, she helps lead communications for the Spirit Aligned Leadership Program.

In 2014, Gabrielle marched with the Cowboy Indian Alliance. They were protesting the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. In 2016, she joined protests to support Leonard Peltier. He is a member of the American Indian Movement. He was arrested during protests in the 1970s. In 2017, Gabrielle spoke at the People's Climate March. This event happened on President Trump's 100th day in office.