A DESIGN CONSULTING STUDIO ROOTED IN INDIGENOUS VALUES

Native Roots is a Native Woman-Owned design consulting studio based in the Pacific Northwest. We partner with our design strategy clients as we share our bold ambitions for the future - a future where Native communities prosper with their values on full display. We are passionate about working collaboratively with Native leaders, organizations, and businesses. We combine their expertise on their community and culture with our unique value proposition – extensive expertise in multifaceted development projects, established project management skills, effective systems, thoughtful processes, and a deep understanding of their culture.

We know that design alone cannot solve the systemic issues faced by Indigenous communities; however, we believe that creative and forward-thinking design strategies can begin to inspire ripples that improve and empower our communities over time. Informed by our knowledge of environmental design and community and economic development, we offer an innovative approach to community projects that centers impact. Our approach to design strategy is so much more than drawings or selections – it’s a tailored roadmap to effectively achieving your goals, addressing challenges, navigating systems, and providing solutions.

MeeT our founder

As a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Marissa Ahern-Crabb’s own heritage, upbringing, education, and experiences culminate in Native Roots Design and Development. Through her multifaceted design approach, she provides enduring and far-reaching solutions for the clients and communities she serves. As a Native designer,  Marissa is dedicated to creating a legacy through her leadership and her design work that sets an example for future generations.

For Marissa, design is a calling that can be traced all the way back to her childhood in Central Oregon. Growing up near the Warm Springs Reservation, she remembers recognizing the disparities between the homes and buildings on her tribe’s reservation and those that weren’t. These early observations motivated Marissa to use the talents and resources she had to create solutions for communities like hers through design. She attended the University of Colorado, graduating with honors and her bachelor's degree in Environmental Design in Architecture. During her honors  thesis project, Marissa recognized that design alone could not address the systemic issues being faced in indigenous communities and decided to broaden her focus to include community and economic development. She graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a Master’s Degree in Community and Economic Development and a much more nuanced understanding of how design and development intersect. In 2021, Marissa launched Native Roots to pursue her lifelong goal of founding a design studio focused on Native communities.