AICCM

Russ Tall Chief
Director of Arts & Exhibitions

Russ Tall Chief (Osage) served as a member of the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum’s Working Group before being named Director of Arts and Exhibitions. Most recently, Tall Chief served as the Director of the Jacobson House Native Art Center in Norman, OK, where he directed the artistic, cultural, educational, and administrative activities of the historic non-profit cultural center.

For the past eight years, Tall Chief has served as the Art Galleries Editor for Native Peoples magazine, which is based in Phoenix, AZ. Tall Chief has contributed articles on Native art and culture extensively to the magazine, as well as to other publications, such as Veranda, Southwest Art, The Santa Fean, Norman Living, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian magazine American Indian.

A traditional Southern Straight Dancer, Tall Chief served as Head Man Dancer for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian opening powwow of the museum’s New York City facility, the George Gustav Heye Center. Tall Chief went on to serve in both the Education and Public Affairs departments of the museum. Tall Chief is currently a Taildancer as well as a former Drumkeeper for the Greyhorse District of the In’lonshka Osage ceremonial dances.

Tall Chief earned his Master's Degree in English from Bemidji State University in Minnesota and a Bachelor's Degree in Communication from the University of Central Oklahoma. His graduate studies also include work at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and the University of Toronto.