OLYMPIA, Wash. — A miniature model of the state’s tribute to Native American civil rights leader Billy Frank, Jr. is now on display at the Washington state Capitol in Olympia.
In 2021, legislators passed a law to honor Frank at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C.
Frank was arrested dozens of times during the 20th century challenging tribal fishing rights guaranteed by treaties with the U.S. government. He took on the feds and won and was later honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
”That takes spine. It takes resilience,” said Gov. Jay Inslee.
State Representative Debra Lekanoff sponsored the bill to get the statue of Frank made.
”Billy taught me the word of courage, the word to stand up,” said Lekanoff, “The word to be brave.”
Last week, legislators and tribal members from across the state got to see what that statue will look like.
A 4-foot tall version of the statue, made of fiberglass, was revealed in a ceremony Jan. 10. It’s now on display in the lobby of the Lieutenant Governor’s office.
The final version will be bronze and 9 feet tall, according to artist Haiying Wu. It is expected to be in the U.S. Capitol’s Statutory Hall sometime in 2025.
The statue portrays Frank, smiling and sitting on a riverbank.
Wu said he studied photos and videos of Frank, who died in 2014. But Wu said he also walked along the Nisqually River, where Frank was raised, fished, and was arrested for the first time as a 14-year-old boy.
”There must be something, a lot of emotions inside of him, when he sat down on the riverbank,” said Wu. “So I thought that’s the best way I can portray him.”
At the unveiling, Frank’s son, Willie Frank, III, said seeing the statue made him cry.
”It truly is a blessing to be here today. My dad, he’s looking down on us and smiling,” said Willie Frank, III.