Lester Howse

Wapo Piesew, also known as Lester, was born January 7^th 1944 in the foot hills

Of the Rocky Mountains, near what is know today as Rocky Mountain House, Alberta.

His Indian bloodline trails back to the original Rocky Mountain Tribes who were both prairie and mountain people. The mountain people were on his mother’s side and his father was of Indian/Scottish bloodline. Growing up in the natural world where the horse and buggy was mode of transportation in that part of the territory and hunting moose and elk for food and their hides tanned and made into clothing was a major influence on his life and the art pieces he creates. He is self taught as an artist and self – educated since leaving school at a young age, At the age of 70. He continues to do what he can to create rare pieces that some of his fellow artist brothers and sisters refer to as “wild”.

Inspirations for this type of creative art came to Lester (Wapo Piesew), while viewing a 1902 Photograph of an old Indian man wearing a necklace made of rifle bullet casings, Since 1970, the artist has been creating pieces where some can be found on display in three casinos of SIGA

Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority, the Alberta Provincial Museum in Edmonton and as far away as the law office of Kiesel, Boucher and Larson of Beverly Hills California. Each piece is unique, being the only one of its kind in the world.