Billy Frank Jr.

WHEREAS, In memory of what would have been Billy Frank Jr.'s 95th 1
birthday, we honor a man whose steadfast beliefs and actions led to 2
the reaffirmation of treaty rights across the land. Known as an 3
architect of consensus solutions, he brought people together with 4
genuine respect endeavoring to find resolution for the good of all 5
people in order to protect and cultivate salmon and their natural 6
surroundings; and 7
WHEREAS, Binding promises made by the United States acknowledged, 8
through treaties, the rights of tribes to take fish "at all usual and 9
accustomed stations," and "in common with the citizens of the 10
territory" of Washington; and 11
WHEREAS, Frank's father, Willie, and his predecessors, lived in a 12
time of abundance, with strong salmon runs and plentiful clams, 13
oysters, geoducks, wild berries, and camas roots; and14
WHEREAS, Born on March 9, 1931, to Willie Sr. and Angeline Frank, 15
Frank Jr., a member of the Nisqually Tribe, was raised in the 16
tradition of his ancestors, with stories of the land, the river, the 17
salmon runs, and the art of preserving fish; and 18
WHEREAS, Frank grew up on six acres along the banks of the 19
Nisqually River in Thurston County. Known as Frank's Landing, the 20
property was purchased after the Nisqually people were driven from 21
their reservation during the development of the Fort Lewis Army Base 22
in 1917; and 23
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2026-4700 , by Representatives Lekanoff, Berry, Nance,
Engell, Parshley, Street, Taylor, Stearns, Ryu, Callan, Zahn, Ramel, Rude, Schmick,
Salahuddin, Cortes, Thai, Peterson, Bronoske, Richards, Berg, Fosse, Dent, Kloba,
Marshall, Graham, Obras, Tharinger, Macri, Leavitt, Rule, Gregerson, Pollet,
Barkis, Santos, and Paul
p. 1 HR 4700
WHEREAS, At the age of 14, Frank began what became a lifetime of 1
advocacy, leadership, and statesmanship. In 1945, he protested his 2
arrest by two game wardens, simply for fishing on the Nisqually River 3
near his family's property. He would spend his lifetime challenging 4
the state and nation to live up to its promises; and5
WHEREAS, In 1952, at age 21, Frank fulfilled a dream to join the 6
Marines, proudly serving in the Marine Corps for two years as an 7
expert marksman; and 8
WHEREAS, Treaty rights were increasingly eroded during Frank's 9
lifetime through commercial and recreational fishing by nontribal 10
actors and unjust state regulations and aggressive policing of tribal 11
fishing. This, combined with expansive growth, construction, property 12
development, and pollution, further depleted the plentiful salmon and 13
other natural resources that had traditionally sustained tribal 14
people in Washington; and 15
WHEREAS, By the mid 1960s Frank's Landing was a focal point for 16
the assertion of treaty rights and tribal sovereignty. Over the next 17
decade, Washington State would raid, arrest, and campaign against the 18
fishing rights of Pacific Northwest tribes; and 19
WHEREAS, Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Frank led historic 20
"fish-ins," demonstrations, and acts of civil resistance with other 21
tribal and nontribal leaders, insisting on the treaty rights 22
guaranteed more than a century before. In defending his treaty rights 23
Frank was arrested numerous times; and 24
WHEREAS, Growing public awareness of the unjust infringement upon 25
tribal treaty fishing rights in Washington ultimately resulted in the 26
historic litigation and decision issued in United States v. 27
Washington, in which the Honorable George Boldt recognized tribal 28
treaty fishing rights as the supreme law of the land; and29
WHEREAS, Following the Boldt decision, initial, blatant disregard 30
of the decision by state and local authorities and citizens resulted 31
in hardship and anger directed at indigenous people. Frank led with 32
humility and vision towards a better future; and 33
WHEREAS, Frank remained steadfast in his vision of thriving 34
salmon in the Nisqually River, flourishing in the Salish Sea; he 35
energized others to share his vision and urgency. He resisted 36
bitterness and confronted injustice with consensus-building by 37
bringing diverse groups of people with conflicting interests together 38
p. 2 HR 4700
in important negotiations including the Timber, Fish, and Wildlife 1
Agreement and the Pacific Salmon Treaty; and 2
WHEREAS, For more than 30 years, Frank served as Chairman of the 3
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, created in 1975 to support the 4
natural resource comanagement activities of the 20 treaty Indian 5
tribes in western Washington; and 6
WHEREAS, Over his lifetime Frank was honored with countless 7
additional awards for his decades-long fight for justice and 8
environmental preservation, including: The Common Cause Award for 9
Human Rights Efforts, the Albert Schweitzer Prize for 10
Humanitarianism, the American Indian Distinguished Service Award, the 11
Wallace Stegner Award, the Washington State Environmental Excellence 12
Award, and the 2015 Washington State Medal of Merit. In 2015, 13
President Barack Obama named Frank posthumously as a recipient of the 14
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest official civilian 15
honor; and 16
WHEREAS, Billy Frank Jr. died May 5, 2014, at the age of 83. 17
Willie Frank III and his wife, Peggen, continue the work of both 18
father and grandfather. A good life growing up at Frank's Landing 19
instilled the dignity and respect that informed the principles and 20
guidelines of their leadership. His family once said, "being with 21
Billy is like floating on a steady, easy river. Billy's life is 22
turbulent, but Billy is not. He's the happiest person I know. He's 23
completely at peace with himself"; and 24
WHEREAS, A statue of Billy Frank Jr. will soon be unveiled at 25
National Statuary Hall where his likeness will represent the great 26
state of Washington in the United States Capitol building in 27
Washington, D.C.; 28
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives 29
commemorate March 9th as Billy Frank Jr. Day; and 30
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we reflect in gratitude on Billy 31
Frank Jr., the man who worked tirelessly and collaboratively to 32
protect tribal treaty rights, native traditions, and the natural 33
resources they are based upon; and 34
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be 35
forwarded to the family of Billy Frank Jr. 36
37
I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of38
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Resolution 4700 adopted by the House of Representatives1
February 27, 2026 2
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__________________________ 7
Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk 8
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