Biography

Tyrese "Bright Flower" Gould Jacinto
Artist and Author Biography

Tyrese "Bright Flower" Gould Jacinto, of Bridgeton, New Jersey, is a member of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Nation. Born on September 27, 1963, in Bridgeton, she is the daughter of Phyllis “Red Deer" and Chief Mark "Quiet Hawk" Gould, who was among a core group in the 1970s that initiated the modern-day structure of the ancient family.
Tyrese "Bright Flower" was, therefore, immersed in ancient tribal arts from an early age. She is also the first granddaughter of Marion "Strong Medicine" Gould who was famous in the tribe for her knowledge of herbal medicine and is fortunate to have been taught and guided by her to learn the ancient wisdom of herbs and everyday life. With four generations alive, Tyrese is surrounded by family values and traditions of old. She has created ancient products for healing by producing and growing the local herbs used in her tinctures. The inspiring true story of Marion "Strong Medicine" Gould, a Lenape matriarch, and the Native way of life will be remembered through the book "Strong Medicine" Speaks: A Native American Elder Has Her Say by Amy Hill Hearth, 2008, which also mentions Tyrese.

Bright Flower (right), Sister, and grandmother "Strong Medicine" 1976

Six generations of Strong Medicine and Quiet Hawk, 2023

Three generations at Pow wow: "Quiet Hawk" and "Strong Medicine" 2012

Tyrese "Bright Flower" is a talented artist engaged in traditional Lenape arts featuring “no-face” dolls with diverse types of materials. She also mastered beadwork, basket weaving, wampum belts, shellwork, leatherwork, pine needle, and gourd arts. "I am inspired to create from the gifts of Mother Earth. I feel as though I have the gift to create as it speaks to me. The creation of my Lenape art is from the heart and mindset that forms from deep within".

Leather and Beaded Belt

Turtle Medicine Pouch, Leather Medicine Pouch, Pine needle Basket

No-face doll with a crown: painted gourd, and a leather cape

The mother of five children and three grandchildren, Tyrese is eager to pass on Lenape traditions to future generations. "If we do not persevere, these arts will not continue to be passed down," she said. Over the years, she participated in various educational programs featuring Lenape traditional arts at various venues such as Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center. She published a series of books to pass on the stories of the tribe to their young. She also created a series of video materials to share her deep understanding of the Lenape culture and artistic expressions.

Bright Flower, children and grandchildren July 2022

Bright Flower, granddaughters, January 2023

Tyrese and her husband Victor own a tourist ranch in Fairfield Township, New Jersey. They grow the gourds and other materials and provide instruction on ancient Lenape arts by allowing the public to participate in scheduled hands-on events. Over the last few years, Tyrese has hosted tribal youth and other organizations to learn about gourds and pine needle weaving.

Bright Flower workshop for tribal youth learning pine needle art on Ranch

Tribal youth learning about local herbs on the ranch

Tyrese "Bright Flower" has been teaching tribal arts since the age of thirteen, where she assisted elders to teach the tribal youth how to do beadwork, leatherwork, no-face cornhusk dolls, Lenape dancing, and singing. In the early 70s, the tribal youth participated in classes at the house in Greenwich and the birthplace of her mother for the summer months. In the later 70s and into the early 80s, she taught art classes at "the Grove," the home of tribal elder Lorraine Johnson Gregg.
As a resident teaching artist Tyrese has classes in ancient Lenape arts at different schools and had regular residencies at Downe Township Elementary School, where she visited yearly for over 15 years in the 90s and 2000s. Tyrese also has a full yearly calendar of public presentations focusing on the ancient Lenape arts. In the last 3 years and partly due to the advancement of technology, Tyrese has offered virtual workshops for various teaching institutions and was able to keep a recording of these events on her YouTube channel, forever memorializing her teaching engagements.

Tribal youth, Bright Flower with Nora Thompson Dean "Touching Leaves" of Oklahoma Delaware Tribe 1979

Bright Flower with Tribal Youth 1979

Tyrese "Bright Flower" is an artist with the New Jersey Council of the arts and was featured in "Passing It On," the State's Newsletter and website. She also serves as an appointed member of the Department of Community Affairs' WAP Policy Advisory Committee and the State of NJ DEP Environmental Justice Advisory Council. The New Jersey Senate and State Assembly have recognized Tyrese "Bright Flower" numerous times for her 30-plus years of work with the Nanticoke Lenape Nation and Native Americans as a community leader.

November 2021 Article - see public presentation page for full article

Folk Art Apprenticeship Annalyse learning from Me about no-face dolls 2022

Tyrese has mastered the "No Face Ancestor" Doll Art. This art is a long tradition among the Lenape, and she taught this to others. Tyrese makes dolls from leather, cornhusks, materials, and gourds. Whenever she creates a likeness of any living creature, past or present, she never puts a face on it because she was taught that “it is not our place to make any likeness of any face or creature. Only the creator has the privilege of doing so”. The "No Face Ancestor" art helps Tyrese keep this tradition alive. However, it also provides her with an unique opportunity to explore her artistic ideas about translating its message into her artwork. Tyrese creates something different without losing its importance to her, her people, and everyone who communicates with this traditional art. There are various ways to create no-face dolls. Tyrese personally uses cornhusk, leather, and gourds to create her art. Tyrese has practiced this art form starting at the age of seven. Her mother taught Tyrese about cornhusks, rag dolls, gourds, and leather.

No-Face Gourd Doll - Grown by Me

No-Face cornhusk doll

Mother and Daughter No-face leather dolls

Tyrese has also mastered "Infinity Spiral" pine needle art. She feels she can create from what the tree has given and has let go after it shades and houses the bird's and other animals' lives. Tyrese's Lenape "Infinity Spiral" Pine Needle creations are from the long needles that fall to the ground to create baskets, hairpieces, and ornament for her regalia as a work of art. It is a simple process, yet it makes a beautiful spiral that can be inspired to take many forms and uses. The trees carry Tyrese's ancestors through their leaves. The tree is a gift that is continuous from her past. The Lenape "Infinity Spiral" Pine Needle Art reminds her that we continue to grow and expand, are part of history, and contribute to the future.

Pine Needle Basket with attached lid

Pine Needle Hairpiece

Pine Needle Pendant

Tyrese "Bright Flower" has also mastered the ancient Cohanzick Lenape Gourd Art. This gourd art is a creation from her heart that was inspired after many years of meditation. Gourds take many years before they can be created into another form, from when she holds the seed in her hand and place it in the fertile soil as she watches it grow and take shape. Sometimes, Tyrese will stare at the form it takes, which speaks to her and tells her what it should be. The gourd's seed carries Tyrese's ancestors; it brings the past and continues to give life; it provides beauty and a gift. Each seed has the mark of its ancestor, and each gourd influences the past. Tyrese thinks of her ancestors as she plants the seed in the fertile soil, and she gives thanks that she can be a part of a long creation process. Sometimes, Tyrese holds the gourd in her hands for many hours before it speaks to her and describes what it should be. Sometimes, she can turn it into a vessel or a rattle, but other times when she holds the gourds, they inspire her to become a Lenape artist.

Gourd art featuring pine needles

Gourd art with dream catcher, feather and beads

Gourd art: pine needles, leather medicine bag and cedar stand

Small gourd and leather medicine pouch

Tyrese "Bright Flower" offers imagination that brings the past to life in the Cohanzick Lenape Inspirational and Children's Books. She wrote several books, including Seek the Better Place ,Tale of the Turkeys' Detailed Tale, The Creator's Great Soup, The Blossoms of Bright Flower, The Wishing Doll, Whisper Wind Song, He Talks to Birds, Precious Cohanzick Lenape Crabs, and Cohanzick Lenape Village Tales Coloring Book to include her people in the history of New Jersey. Like all others, sharing stories with her children, grandchildren, and future generations is part of her legacy. Tyrese wrote Cohanzick Lenape inspirational books, The Way to Riches is What You Think and Twenty Twenty-One, to inspire self-help for help with integrity and prosperity. "Often, we Natives are portrayed as something from the past. We are alive and thriving, and there are many underrepresented artists or never mentioned in mainstream media. We are aware, and it is evident, that we are significantly under-represented in movies, commercials, and television and primarily as a subject of books. Many artists should be acknowledged and encouraged to publish their stories."

Reading my published book to tribal youth during the Lenape tribal gathering

Bright Flower and granddaughters at book singing in Bridgeton, NJ

Art gallery display and book signing

Table featuring my published books

Professional Bio

Tyrese Gould Jacinto is multifaceted and has a rich tapestry of accomplishments and contributions. As the President and CEO of the Native American Advancement Corp, a Native American Religious Conservation organization founded in 2010, Tyrese has dedicated her life to preserving and promoting Community Development, Native American heritage, and Conservation. As a Citizen of the Nanticoke Lenape Nation, Tyrese actively contributes to various councils, serving as a member of the NJ DCA WAP (Weatherization Assistance Policy Council), the NJ DEP EJAC (Environmental Justice Advisory Council), and NJ DEP ENSAC (Endangered and Nongame Species Advisory Committee).
To read entire bio click here.

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