Billy Frank Jr., a member of the Nisqually Tribe, famously fought Washington state to preserve his treaty rights to fish.
He was arrested more than 50 times. He died in 2014.
Now, he’s being honored by the state and nation. An 11-foot tall statue and pedestal of him will be installed at the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C., later this year. A copy of the full statue will also be installed at Washington state’s Legislative Building.
“My dad, he wasn’t a preacher,” said Willie Frank III, the son of Billy Frank Jr. “You know, he didn’t preach or tell us to do things one way or another. It was just being Indian, right? Know who you are and where you come from.”
Mike Sweney is a manager with the Washington State Arts Commission. That organization is overseeing the statue project.
“The end result is gonna be a statue that represents the state of Washington, the people of Washington and certainly Billy Frank Jr. that will be in Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C., and representing the state,” Sweney said.
The statue is being constructed at the Classic Foundry in Seattle. The full-size clay and styrofoam statue has been cast into nearly 70 rubber and plaster sections, and will be poured in bronze using the lost wax method. Then, it will be carefully welded back together. The statue of Billy Frank Jr. will then be placed on a pedestal clad in granite.
“What he did wasn’t just symbolic, it had significance nationwide,” Sweney said. “Fighting against that, that case went to a federal judge and then to the Supreme Court. The Boldt Decision that happened here at the federal level, reiterated or clarified the treaty.”
Sweney said that the Boldt Decision has helped strengthen treaty rights across the nation.
“It’s a wonderful moment. I think our relationships with the tribes across the state have been getting better over the years,” he said. “And recognizing their sovereignty is a big part of that. I think all Washingtonians should feel proud to have Billy represent them in D.C.”
There is also a plan for the Wha He Lut Indian School to visit Classic Foundry and see part of the statue’s construction process. Many children from the Nisqually Tribe attend school there. Willie Frank III is the school’s director of education.
He hopes the experience will help teach the students about his father’s environmental and treaty rights work.
“I’m trying to show each and every one of these students here, ‘You know who you are, you know where you come from and you know where you’re going – that you can deal with any hurdle in life,’” he said.
