Coast Salish

Smith, Bambi

Bambi Smith has always been interested in the art form, growing up with many carvers surrounding her. She started carving under the watchful eye of well known artists Francis Horne and later studied under Elliot Jones for 15 years. Bambi is now interested in other mediums and is going back[…]

Jackson, Shain

Shain Jackson is Coast Salish from the community of Sechelt. He is a lawyer who has represented the interests of Aboriginal communities and organizations throughout British Columbia in relation to a broad array of issues. After years devoted to the legal profession Shain has taken a break to follow his[…]

Yelton, Jim

Jim Yelton is was born in 1957 and is of Coast Salish descent. Jim learned his carving skills from his father Michael Yelton, an established carver, starting at the young age of twelve years old. He enjoys carving in yellow cedar and specializes in talking and rhythm sticks, totems, bowls[…]

Stokes, George

George Stokes was born in Vancouver in 1969. He began carving at the age of fifteen and within a year was assisting Bill Reid and Don Yeomans with an eighteen foot totem pole for Kitsilano Secondary School. The totem now stands in the school auditorium. George enjoys carving in yellow[…]

Point, Susan

Susan Point was born in Alert Bay, British Columbia in 1952 and now resides on the Musqueam First Nations Reservation in Vancouver, BC. Susan began her art career in her late 20’s, carving rings, pendants, bracelets and other Jewellery. Her works are distinct in their expression of traditional Coast Salish[…]

Pat, Jeff

Jeff Pat was born in 1969 on the northern tip of Vancouver Island, in Alert Bay, British Columbia. Jeff is a member of the Coast Salish Nation, his family crest being Sun. Jeff was inspired and taught silver engraving by his well respected father, Gilbert Pat. Jeff’s style, attention to[…]

Paul, Chris

Chris Paul is a young Coast Salish artist who is gaining international acclaim for his limited edition giclee prints, cedar panels, and glass sculpture. Born near Victoria, British Columbia in 1969 as a member of Tsarlip nation, Chris was immersed in Coast Salish art as a child. Before the age[…]

lessLIE

Born in 1973 in Duncan, British Columbia, lessLIE’s “colonized, Catholic, Canadian name” is Leslie Robert Sam. His “decolonized artist’s name” is lessLIE. Picasso once said that “art is a lie that tells the truth.” lessLIE is living this perspective in the spirit of trickster traditions. lessLIE has a Bachelor of[…]

Johnnie, Roger

Roger Johnnie was born in Nanaimo, British Columbia in 1984. When Roger was a young boy he enjoyed watching his uncle, renowned artist Francis Horne, carve. Later, in his teens, he took even greater interest in the artforms of his ancestors. He began to carve under the watchful eye of[…]

Johnny Jr, Maynard

Maynard was born in 1973 in Campbell River, British Columbia. He is a descendant of both the Kwakwaka’wakw and Coast Salish nations and has thus inherited a unique blend of culture and tradition. Artistically, although he began drawing at the age of six, it was in his mid-teens that Maynard[…]

Lewis, Jacob

Jacob Lewis was born into the Squamish tribe of the Coast Salish Nation in 1955. The name Jacob or “Sequaltuhn” means Man who Sees the Future. Jacob was given his name by his maternal grandmother, Bertha Billy. He has been carving since the tender age of seven and became prolific[…]

Gonzales, David J

David was born in 1971 and raised on the Tsartlip Reserve in Brentwood Bay on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It is here that David was introduced to Native Art and was inspired to create. He is a member of the Squamish Nation and adopted into the Nisga’a Nation by[…]

Horne, Francis

Francis Horne, Jr. was born in Chilliwack, B.C. in 1975, and is from the Coast Salish Nation, which represents the lower mainland of British Columbia. Francis is a young, up and coming artist, who is following in his father’s footsteps, Francis Horne, Sr. In the late 1980’s, Francis began carving[…]

Brown, Noel

Noel Brown was born in Nanaimo, BC in March 1970. Noel began carving in 1994. He received training and inspiration from James Lewis, a prominent Northwest Coast artist. He has also worked and learned from other talented individuals such as Richard Baker, James Baker and Darin Lewis. Noel worked with[…]

Cannell, Kelly

Kelly Cannell is a Coast Salish artist who from birth has been exposed to the endeavours and teachings of her mother Susan Point. Kelly has often helped her mother with painting and wood carving and as a result is fluent with the use of Coast Salish traditional elements. In recent[…]

Charlie, Jim

Jim Charlie was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia in 1967. He’s part of the Coast Salish Nation and has taken the Thunderbird from his grandfather and the grizzly Bear from his grandmother as his family crests. Jim reveals that he has always been interested in art while growing up[…]

Baker, Yul

Yul Baker was born in North Vancouver, BC in September 1973 and is of mixed native descent. Yul is an avid athlete and he won a World Championship in lacrosse with the Rochester Nighthawks in 1997. He has been working as an artist since 2003 and has trained with established[…]