IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 769 

Expressing support for the designation of March 9, 2018, as a national 

day of remembrance in honor of the life, legacy, and many accomplishments of Billy Frank, Jr. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2018 

Mr. HECK (for himself, Mr. KILMER, and Mrs. TORRES) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for the designation of March 9, 2018, 

as a national day of remembrance in honor of the life, 

legacy, and many accomplishments of Billy Frank, Jr. 

Whereas, in the 1850s, the United States Government signed 

a series of treaties with Washington State Tribes under 

which the Tribes granted millions of acres of land to the 

United States in exchange for the establishment of reservations and the recognition of traditional hunting, fishing, and gathering rights; 

Whereas Billy Frank, Jr., was born to Willie Frank, Sr., and 

Angeline Frank on March 9, 1931, at Frank’s Landing 

on the banks of the Nisqually River in Washington State; 


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•HRES 769 IH 

Whereas the tireless efforts and dedication of Billy Frank, 

Jr., led to a historic legal victory that ensured that the 

United States would honor promises made in treaties 

with the Washington Tribes; 

Whereas Billy Frank, Jr., was first arrested in December of 

1945, at the age of 14, for fishing for salmon in the 

Nisqually River; 

Whereas Billy Frank, Jr., was subsequently arrested more 

than 50 times for exercising his treaty-protected right to 

fish for salmon; 

Whereas over the years, Billy Frank, Jr., and other Tribal 

members staged ‘‘fish-ins’’ that often placed the 

protestors in danger of being arrested or attacked; 

Whereas during these fish-ins, Billy Frank, Jr., and others 

demanded that they be allowed to fish in historically 

Tribal waters, a right the Nisqually had reserved in the 

Treaty of Medicine Creek; 

Whereas declining salmon runs in Washington waters resulted in increased arrests of Tribal members exercising 

their fishing rights under the Treaty of Medicine Creek; 

Whereas, on February 12, 1974, in the case of United States 

v. Washington, Judge George Hugo Boldt of the United 

States District Court for the Western District of Washington issued a decision that affirmed the right of Washington treaty Tribes to take up to half of the harvestable 

salmon in western Washington, reaffirmed Tribal treatyreserved rights, and established the Tribes as comanagers 

of the salmon resource; 

Whereas the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the Boldt decision; 


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•HRES 769 IH 

Whereas after the Boldt decision, Billy Frank, Jr., continued 

his fight to protect natural resources, salmon, and a 

healthy environment; 

Whereas the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, where 

Billy Frank, Jr., served as chairman, assists its 20 member Tribes in managing fisheries and works to establish 

relationships with State agencies and non-Indian groups 

to restore and protect habitats, and protect Tribal treaty 

rights; 

Whereas Billy Frank, Jr., refused to be bitter in the face of 

jail, racism, and abuse, and his influence was felt not just 

in Washington State but around the world; 

Whereas Billy Frank, Jr., was awarded the Albert Schweitzer 

Prize for Humanitarianism, the Common Cause Award 

for Human Rights Efforts, the American Indian Distinguished Service Award, the Washington State Environmental Excellence Award, and the Wallace Stegner 

Award for his years of service and dedication to his battle; 

Whereas, in 2015, Billy Frank, Jr., was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President 

Barack Obama; 

Whereas, in 2015, Congress passed the Billy Frank Jr. Tell 

Your Story Act (Public Law 114–101), renaming the 

Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge in honor of Billy 

Frank, Jr., and establishing a national memorial at nearby McAllister Creek, where the Medicine Creek Treaty 

was signed in 1854 between the United States Government and the Nisqually, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, and 

Squaxin Island Tribes; 


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•HRES 769 IH 

Whereas the legacy of Billy Frank, Jr., will live on in stories, 

in memories, and every time a Tribal member exercises 

his or her right to harvest salmon in Washington State; 

and 

Whereas the legacy of Billy Frank, Jr., continues to inspire 

those still around today and those still to come: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports 

2 a national day of remembrance in honor of the life, legacy, 

3 and many accomplishments of Billy Frank, Jr. 

Æ 


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