Gail Small is a founding member and the current executive director of Native Action, a nonprofit organization dedicated to Indian self-sufficiency, which seeks to bridge racial, socioeconomic, and environmental barriers by empowering, challenging and educating people in order to protect the environment and the quality of life for future generations. She is active in national Indian policy issues and international Indigenous issues; she has also taught law and served as a guest lecturer and speaker at various universitites, as well as before Congressional oversight hearings. She is a member of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Tribe of Montana and a graduate of the University of Montana (BA 1978) and the University of Oregon School of Law (JD 1982).