Contemporary Northwest native artist Shaun Peterson is slated to give a free presentation about Coast Salish art and culture for the Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association’s (VMIHA) ongoing exhibition about Vashon natives, at 3 p.m. Saturday, at the Penny Farcy Center next to the museum.

Following in the footsteps of his ancestors who inhabited the shores of the Salish Sea, Peterson learned his craft under the tutalage of his elders — master artisans who shared their technique, insight and discipline with him. How the traditional art has developed and morphed as the various cultures have changed is the subject of Peterson’s talk, “Coast Salish Culture: Adaptations to the Present.” The presentation will describe the diversity of Coast Salish culture, with a special focus on the Puyallup Tribe’s pre-contact culture. Peterson will also explain the differences between northern and southern style Coast Salish art and the cultural differences driving the distinctions.

Peterson said he believes “that the art itself has been most responsible for preserving our stories through intrigue and curiosity. Though I work in a variety of media, I keep in mind that it’s not the media that drives the works themselves, but the story or feeling it is supposed to carry to the observer.”

Peterson, born in Pullayup in 1975, began pursuing his native Puyallup and Tulalip heritage shortly after high school. He created his first public installation, a 37-foot story pole for Chief Leschi School, in the first year of his training, followed quickly by commissions in Tacoma and Seattle.

In a 2005 ceremony, Peterson received his native name Qwalsius or “traveling to the face of enlightenment,” a name originally given to his great grandfather.

A recent sculpture called Devilfish was commissioned by VMIHA and is currently on exhibit at the museum.