Contemporary Coast Salish Artist lessLIE

Contemporary Coast Salish Artist lessLIE

Leslie Robert Sam was born in Duncan, BC, in 1973. He later adopted the artist name lessLIE to acknowledge the deception and betrayal Indigenous peoples faced through colonization.

When he was six months old, he and his mother moved to Seattle to be near family, especially his grandfather Gary Rice. His grandfather, a Coast Salish artist, encouraged his early passion for art. Growing up in a large urban centre also shaped his views on environment, dispossession, and race, themes that appear in his work.

lessLIE earned a B.A. in First Nations Studies from Malaspina University‑College and is completing a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Victoria. As part of his graduate work, he trained at the Thunderbird Park Carving Studio at the Royal BC Museum.

He began studying Coast Salish art in 1995, inspired by contemporary artist Susan Point. His cousin Joseph Wilson also encouraged him, along with influences such as Manuel Salazar, Maynard Johnny Jr., Shaun Peterson, and Luke Marston.

lessLIE has shown his pieces in many solo and group exhibitions. His work appears in private and museum collections worldwide.