Pablita Abeyta

Abeyta earned her Master of Public Affairs from the University of New Mexico in 1983. After earning her degree, she became a lobbyist for the Navajo Nation Washington, D.C. office. As a lobbyist for the Navajo, she coordinated a national effort to secure the passing of amendments related to Native peoples such as the Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Water Act, and the Superfund act. From 1986 to 1988, Abeyta was a legislative assistant for Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Democrat in the House of Representatives at this time.[6] She left Campbell's office in 1988 to join the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 1991, she became a congressional liaison for the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI).[5][7] At NMAI she monitored the planned museum's funding and participated in obtaining funding for the Smithsonian Institution, NMAI'S organizational parent.[6] She had also worked in developing proposals related to the cultural repatriation. She had also served as the special assistant to the director of the museum[5] in the office of Government affairs.[6] She served as a liaison with fundraising for the museum, and also coordinated the attendance of tribal leaders at opening ceremonies as a member of the Native Nations procession team.[6]

As an artist, Abeyta created sculptures that are described as "smooth, round and sensuous." Her work is held in numerous private and public collections, including those of John McCain, Daniel Inouye, NMAI[8][9] and the National Museum of Natural History.[5] Abeyta's first piece to be auctioned came after her death in 2017. Her "untitled, two corn maidens" was auctioned at Cowan's Cincinnati 2020.