Gabrielle grew up in Mi’kma’ki on the West Coast of Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland), where she has close, familial ties to the Mi’kmaw community, for whom she is a drum carrier. Her ancestry is Scottish, Irish, German, and Wampanoag. Gabrielle’s interest in the interpretation of traditional knowledge by intellectual property law led her to complete her doctoral research at the University of Oxford’s School of Archaeology, focusing on the protection of traditional knowledges in digital environments through the lens of Indigenous video games. Over the years, she has been fortunate to work with and learn from Indigenous communities, artists, and innovators on the importance of self-determined Indigenous representation, pedagogies, and research methodologies across communities and disciplines.

Gabrielle is a Rhodes Scholar and holds master’s degrees in both Archaeology and Art History from the University of Oxford, as well as a BFA in Visual Arts from her alma mater, Memorial University of Newfoundland. She is passionate about the protection of Indigenous knowledges in both ‘real’ and virtual worlds; Indigenous art and innovation; museology and collaborative heritage management; ludology and pedagogies of play and gaming; Indigenous pedagogies and research methodologies; and Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination.