Gabrielle, Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians, is all about setting positive examples for her fellow tribal youth.
I’m highly dedicated to my education, to staying drug and alcohol free, and to advocating to youth that they can do anything they set their minds to. In a way, I’ve always been an ambassador and have always wanted to promote the well being of Native youth everywhere. The thing that I am most passionate about sharing is storytelling. I am a Media Production major and I hope to become a director/writer/producer for narrative film and television. My whole reason for pursing this in higher education is so that I can bring better representation to Native Americans in the film and tv industry since we have historically been grossly under- or misrepresented. I want to share with my community that the problems on our reservations are partly due to the fact that Native youth don’t see themselves represented on their screens, and therefore, believe that they cannot be the people they see. If they cannot see it, they cannot be it. I want to change that and that’s exactly what I’m working to do. I’m an extremely driven person. This is especially true when I have a camera in my hand and I’m creating videos. I have always had the drive to want to create and change things, and ultimately, I believe that has gotten me to this point in my life. When I have a goal, I will not stop until I reach it.
