Northwest Coast Native Art

$135.25

Item SPSFSW

23 5/8 x 17

0 lbs. 4 oz.

Extra packaging required. A surcharge of 16.00 will be added to order.

Salish Fisherman
by Shaun Peterson

Numbered print 21" x 14", shrink wrapped

Salish Fisherman is part of a series of prints that explore the relationship between the first peoples of the Pacific Northwest coast and the salmon. As a child growing up on the Puyallup River I can always recall my grandfather, father, and uncles fishing. At that time it was not only a way of making a living but also a way of sustaining a long tradition that continued back for generations. To me it seemed just an unquestioned way of life. It wasn't until I was much older that I learned about the struggles that our people endured to secure those rights to continue to fish for salmon. Many of those significant events took place right off in the distance from my mother's house. Things have changed a great deal since then and the salmon themselves are a dwindling populous. My uncle would tell me stories of when the waters were once filled with them though, their nets so full that they would nearly break he said. As unfortunate as it is the fact remains that those days are no longer. We are all in need to make a change to help restore that balance to bring them back. When I was asked about this print and what it meant to me I realized how much I recall my father in particular as a fisherman, and I think that his generation marked the last of our people, at least for a great deal of time, to see that tradition fade. The man in the print doesn't represent my father alone; it symbolizes the people of his generation and how they stood for what their ancestors had wanted for them. It was a matter of continuing things and being proud of who they were and where they came from.

Shaun Peterson

Shaun Peterson was born in Puyallup, Washington in 1975 and is a member of the Puyallup Tribe. Shaun's work is culturally based in the ancient tradition of the Salish speaking tribal groups that cover a majority of western Washington and parts of Southern British Columbia. In Shaun's introduction to the Northwest Coast Native art discipline he worked with a select group of artists skilled in their field of expertise including Haida artist Bruce Cook III, Steve Brown, Greg Colfax (Makah), and Loren White. In working with these individuals Shaun was able to learn a great deal about the variety of styles that define the different cultural groups through the art itself. In his quest to understand the defining artistic features of his own cultural group, he found that there was but minimal documentation readily available to be found. So it was that Shaun began rigorous study in museum collections to learn about the art that was in many ways forgotten among his own people. At first drawing from historic pieces for inspiration, Shaun eventually learned to utilize the properties that defined the Salish style and generated new creations based upon that collection of experience and exploration. His early work was primarily functional and related directly to ceremony in the form of painted drums, rattles, and masks. At present, Shaun has begun to integrate more non-traditional media into his art, such as glass and metal, while maintaining the defining features that make the art culturally identifiable. Shaun has done public works for the cities of Tacoma and Seattle as well as site specific work for tribal buildings in his community. Shaun's work is both traditional and contemporary, drawing on the artistic discipline of the past and utilizing modern materials from the world today. His work is carried by many galleries in the Northwest region that specialize in Northwest Coast Native art in the form of limited edition prints, masks, rattles, hand carved cedar panels, etched glass, and metalwork.

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Salmon

The Salmon's life cycle was - and is - highly respected, and in the native world proper honoring brought prosperity to native communities. The primary food source of tribal peoples, many legends refer to its importance in both the real and ritual life of human communities where the bones of the first salmon of every season are, to this day, respectfully returned to the river. According to Tsimshian legend, salmon were originally salmon people living in 5 villages. These five species of salmon represented the 5 villages - Iyai (spring salmon), Mesaw (sockeye), Werh (coho), Stemawn (pink), and Qanees (dog salmon). In early spring, they changed into their fish form and started on their journey, but each group at different times. Salmon was a major food source for all the Northwest Coast peoples, and therefore a major part of their cultures.

Salmon is the life source and the provider of food for all animals and humans. Treated with high regard, the Salmon is a symbol of immortality and wealth. The great abundance of the salmon allowed the culture of the Northwest Coast to flourish.