Tribes are remembering Billy Frank Jr. today in ceremonies and with holidays to recognize his achievements as an environmental leader and Native American fishing rights activist.
Billy Frank Jr. Day recognizes the contributions of Frank, who died May 5, 2014, at age 83.
Frank was posthumously given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
He was presented with many other awards during his career, among them the Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Award in 1990 and the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism in 1992.
Close offices
The Lower Elwha Klallam tribe and the Quinault tribe will close their tribal offices today for Billy Frank Jr. Day on the anniversary of his birthday.
In addition to today’s closure, the Lower Elwha Klallam will hold youth events for tribal children Friday, said Tracey Hosselkus, chief of operations for the Lower Elwha Klallam in Port Angeles.
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Council recognized the day as a tribal holiday to recognize Frank’s tenacity in fighting for tribal fishing rights, Hosselkus said.
Quileute Vice Chairman Rio Jaime will represent the Quileute tribe at the celebration honoring Billy Frank Jr. Day today in Nisqually.
Other tribes are not closing offices but will remember Frank’s contributions to the community.
“We are very appreciative and honored to have known and worked with Billy,” said Ron Allen, chairman of the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe in Blyn.
Frank was a key player in helping the tribes build stronger tribal governments and become stronger defenders of the tribes’ treaty rights and sovereign status, Allen said.
“Billy falls into a long line of strong warriors,” Allen said.
While the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe is not holding a special event to recognize the day, some tribal members planned to travel to Nisqually to take part in a celebration there.
Makah tribal officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Frank was born March 9, 1931, to Willie and Angeline Frank. He was a member of the Nisqually tribe.
He was arrested for salmon fishing as a young teenager in 1945. That prompted him to begin a decades-long campaign for tribal fishing and treaty rights.
Fishing rights
He was well-known for his grass-roots campaign for fishing rights on the Nisqually River in the 1960s and ’70s.
Frank was arrested more than 50 times during the “Fish Wars” that ensued between the tribes and commercial fishermen over fishing rights in the Pacific Northwest.
The tribes’ right to fish was taken to federal court, and District Judge George Hugo Boldt found in favor of the tribes in 1974, resulting in the Boldt Decision still in force today.
The Boldt Decision established the 20 treaty tribes in Western Washington — including those on the North Olympic Peninsula — as co-managers of the salmon resource and reaffirmed the tribal right to half of the harvestable salmon returning to Western Washington.
Frank was chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission for more than 30 years.
He was an honored figure at September 2011 ceremonies marking the beginning of the Elwha River dam removals.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
