[4] She learned about Mexican Purépecha healing traditions from her great-grandmother Maria Jesus Torres, who used leaves, herbs, and animal fat.
[6] The same year she used black ink and leaves to create "Family Medicine" and other artwork which was published in a Chicana and Chicano art magazine.
"[9] Her 2013 dissertation, "Visual Violence in the Land of Enchantment," addressed how modern nuclear power and industrial agriculture are reflected in fine art.
[5] Norby was the director of the D'Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies at the Newberry Library in Chicago.[when?
][7] Norby served a short stint as senior executive and assistant director of the National Museum of the American Indian in New York.[when?
][13] Norby explored the value of including Native American artists and communities in cultural institutions in the United States in "Museums Pivot: Shifting Paradigms for Collaboration" at the Indian Arts Research Centers' program, where she was keynote speaker, in 2021.