•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 re-
sulted 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 Wash-
ington issued a decision that affirmed the right of Wash-
ington treaty Tribes to take up to half of the harvestable 
salmon in western Washington, reaffirmed Tribal treaty- 
reserved rights, and established the Tribes as comanagers 
of the salmon resource; 
Whereas the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Su-
preme Court of the United States upheld the Boldt deci-
sion; 
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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 mem-
ber 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 Distin-
guished Service Award, the Washington State Environ-
mental Excellence Award, and the Wallace Stegner 
Award for his years of service and dedication to his bat-
tle; 
Whereas, in 2015, Billy Frank, Jr., was posthumously award-
ed 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 near-
by McAllister Creek, where the Medicine Creek Treaty 
was signed in 1854 between the United States Govern-
ment 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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports 
a national day of remembrance in honor of the life, legacy, 
and many accomplishments of Billy Frank, Jr. 
Æ 
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