Get to Know Jess Rene

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Gift giving is Jess Rene’s profound love language—a heartfelt way to express care, connection, and gratitude within their community. They find joy in:Creating and curating custom gifts for community loved ones, team-building events, and special occasionsDesigning bespoke stoneware pieces that tell stories through wall art, adding meaningful narratives to wellness centers and public spacesCrafting unique dinnerware sets tailored for homes and restaurants, blending function with cultural artistrySculpting garden decor and outdoor connection items that enhance healing environments and foster bonds with the natural worldEach creation is thoughtfully designed to carry intention, cultural resonance, and a spirit of generosity. Jess welcomes both solo and collaborative commissions, working closely with clients to craft pieces that reflect their vision while honoring ancestral traditions and sustainable practices.

Jess proudly honors their rich Indigenous heritage, embraced from both sides of their family.

On their mother’s side, their roots trace to the Nahua, Otomi, Zapotec, and Mixteca peoples, alongside Tarahumara, Andean, and African lineages. Although not yet claimed by these tribes, Jess deeply values recovering these roots and cultural traditions, inspired by a great grandmother who was a potter.

On their father’s side, Jess descends from mixed First Nations heritage including Algonquin, Montagnais, Cree, Ojibway (Anishinaabeg), Iroquois (Mohawk), and Scandinavian (Sámi) ancestry. 

These layered ancestries profoundly influence their identity, even as Jess navigates the complexities of border constraints and tribal disenrollment.

Jess Rene identifies as a Two-Spirit, queer, Indigenous non-binary Designer rooted in ecological and cultural reverence. With a background in Interior Design, Architecture, Ethnobotany, Ecology, and Project Development, they blend ancestral knowledge and contemporary design to foster meaningful cultural connections and wellness.Their artistic practice includes stoneware pottery, herbalism, and interior design focusing on Indigenous wellness spaces. They create custom medicinals, ceramics infused with intention, song, and prayer, and develop collaborative community wellness projects that center BIPGM (Black, Indigenous, and People of the Global Majority) communities.Passionate about dismantling colonized and shame-based systems, Jess promotes a spirit-led, justice-centered approach to design and community development. They hold deep commitment to equity, environmental stewardship, and cultural restoration.

Jess Rene is passionate about creating designs that tell powerful cultural stories, especially through wall art and stoneware. Their work blends ancestral knowledge, environmental themes, and personal narratives into visual storytelling that honors Indigenous heritage and fosters connection. Open to solo and collaborative projects, Jess is actively developing creative commissions and team-based efforts that transform spaces and bring stories to life. These designs often serve as focal points in community wellness spaces, inviting reflection, healing, and cultural celebration.

Committed to honoring the land and promoting resilience, Jess specializes in sustainable landscape and ecological design. Their expertise includes planning and developing food forests, community gardens, and regenerative landscapes that support biodiversity and cultural plant relationships. Jess envisions creating community wellness hubs where natural elements and Indigenous stewardship unite to nurture healing environments. Sustainability and reciprocity with the earth are core principles guiding every design project they undertake

Jess Rene believes that plant medicine and holistic wellness are the body’s natural first language—a knowledge that should be normalized and celebrated. At Heartful Rootz, Jess organizes Indigenous youth cohort programs focused on reclaiming traditional medicines and knowledge from their tribal lands. These efforts include the IHEAL cohorts and the creation of Plant Family Song Coloring Books and Videos, designed to engage and educate communities.Jess’s herbalism knowledge was gained the traditional way—by being invited onto Indigenous lands, hearing stories, and being welcomed into homes to connect personally and spiritually with the medicines. Following the wisdom of nature—the birds, bees, and the colors that surround us—they learned to trust their instincts and ancestral guidance. Growing up surrounded by gardens, and with a mother who built school gardens, this deep connection to plant medicine has been lifelong and foundational.

Jess offers a diverse range of wellness classes and programming that weave together herbalism, ceramics, Indigenous songs, and creative expression. These community-centered experiences are designed to foster cultural reclamation, intergenerational healing, and ecological awareness. Whether through hands-on herbal medicine workshops, healing pottery creations, or song circles, Jess’s offerings cultivate joy, wellness, and resilience in connection with land and tradition. They continuously build inclusive spaces for learning, storytelling, and collective care.

Jess Rene offers compassionate doula support grounded in Indigenous cultural wisdom and holistic care. Through custom creations of stoneware pottery designed to honor loved ones, Jess helps families bring comfort and sacred connection into their homes. These unique pieces become cherished companions during life transitions and can later be planted as a beautiful act of returning to the earth.Providing services for both human and pet family members, Jess has supported over 200 elders in passing gently to the next adventure and has contributed to the nurturing and raising of more than 60 children. This work reflects a deep commitment to guiding sacred journeys with honor, love, and intention.

As founder of Heartful Rootz, a nonprofit dedicated to cultural restoration, community wellness, and Indigenous youth programming, Jess leads various innovative initiatives. Their “Plant Family” program revitalizes tribal medicine knowledge through education, plant songs, coloring books, and garden projects that encourage intergenerational healing and ecological awareness.They coordinate CSA family food deliveries, holistic care memberships, medicinal garden designs, community-based wellness classes, BIPGM makers markets, and cultural arts collaborations. Their work invites reciprocal relationships with land and plant medicine while advancing equity and justice through informed, inclusive spaces.

Engaged deeply in Indigenous and BIPGM cultural arts, Jess leads and participates in song circles, drumming, danza, and intertribal creativity. These vibrant traditions serve as vessels for storytelling, healing, and community connection. By integrating creative expression into their work, Jess fosters cultural revitalization and collective resilience through music, movement, and ceremony.

Jess is a dedicated advocate for justice, equity, and Indigenous sovereignty, using their platform to address systemic challenges and promote healing. Their activism includes affordable housing campaigns, land justice efforts, and dismantling colonial and shame-based structures. Personal experiences with injustice deepen their commitment to social change, guided by values of liberation and community empowerment

Jess’s journey has also included navigating significant challenges, including a wrongful felony charge in Escondido, CA, connected to an unjust encounter early in a friend's gender transition. This personal experience fuels their dedication to social justice, inclusion, and reform within their leadership and design work.

Jess Rene invites all who seek to remember and reclaim the healing powers of plants, creativity, and Indigenous wisdom to join their community. Explore their offerings—custom stoneware, herbal medicines, wellness classes, and collaborative projects—through JessReneCreative.com, HeartfulRootz.org, and on social platforms like Singing Pots and Love Warrior Medicinals.Together, they believe in fostering liberation, equity, and sustainable connection to the land through art, design, and cultural reclamation.

At the heart of Jess’s work is a commitment to collaborations that promote justice, equity, and cultural reclamation. Working closely with nonprofits, Indigenous artists, and BIPGM communities, Jess embraces partnerships that amplify collective voices and create sustainable impact. Past projects include Indigenous youth programs, BIPGM makers markets, and community wellness initiatives. Jess is always open to new partnerships aligned with values of food justice, holistic care, cultural restoration, and environmental stewardship.

Jess Rene is a Two-Spirit, queer Indigenous non-binary Designer rooted in Nahua, Otomi, Zapotec, Mixteca, and Tarahumara ancestries on their mother’s side, and Algonquin, Montagnais, Cree, Ojibway, Iroquois, and Sámi lineages on their father’s. They blend ancestral knowledge, herbalism, and ecological stewardship into stoneware pottery, herbal medicines, and culturally resonant design. As founder of Heartful Rootz, Jess leads community wellness, Indigenous youth programs, and creative projects centered on cultural restoration, food justice, and environmental care. Their work invites connection, healing, and justice through art, education, and collaboration.

Find out more about them by visiting their websites and social media: @Singing_Pots, @Love_Warrior_Medicinals, @HeartfulRootz. HeartfulRootz.org JessReneCreative.com