Billy Frank
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2006 Horace Mann Award Recipient - Billy Frank
Former Washington Governor Dan Evans once described him as "a man of unquestionable integrity who represents the ages and stands as living testament to the historic quality of the land." You can call Billy Frank a visionary, but he’ll tell you he’s just a practical man who wants to save the salmon, the rivers, the eagles and the land of his tribal ancestors. "Nobody plans for the future," Frank laments. "In the State of Washington, less than two percent of the budget is for natural resources. Less than two percent!" Born on the mouth of the Nisqually River 75 years ago, Billy Frank devotes his life to the well-being of his people — the Nisqually Tribe — and all other Native Americans up and down the West Coast and beyond. Frank is chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission in Lacey, where he serves as the leading representative to the 20 treaty tribes of Western Washington on tribal fisheries management. He works on agreements between the tribes and local, state and federal officials to strengthen treaty-guaranteed fishing rights and environmental protection laws. Fighting for Tribal Fishing RightsFor a peacemaker, his has been a colorful and often turbulent life. At the age of 14, he was arrested for the first time by state game wardens for fishing near his home. It was an event that eventually would propel him to front-line battles for Native American fishing rights in the '60s and '70s. What Selma, Alabama, was to African Americans, this fight was to Native Americans of the Northwest. "You have to stay the course. We have to be careful with what we have so we can protect our working watersheds." Charles Wilkinson, in his lively book Messages from Frank's Landing: A Story of Salmon, Treaties, and the Indian Way, described those tumultuous times on the Nisqually River: "It was kaleidoscopic. Family. Armed arrests. Fierce resistance. Indian people from all over. Celebrities. Black Panthers, SDSers and hippies. Common well-wishers. Constant surveillance from across the river. Smoke emerging from the smokehouses and wood stoves. Commerce and the processing of fish. Indian humor and laughter. Earnest talk of treaties, federal courts and the Constitution."” Today, Billy Frank can walk the office hallway at the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission and point out the many life-size black-and-white photographs that capture those history-making events. One shows the arrest of Marlon Brando, when the late actor came to the Nisqually River to lend his support for the cause. There's a smoky haze in several of the photos. "All that tear gas," Frank says with a shudder. In all, Billy Frank has been arrested more than 50 times for his civil disobedience. As former Governor Dan Evans remembers it, Frank was arrested so often, he became a fixture in the county jails. "Greed has taken over this country. When will people learn we don’t need all the money? We can’t take it with us." Evans, in a tribute to Frank when he received the first annual American Indian Visionary Award in 2004, also recalls what a familiar sight Frank was at the federal courthouse where he and his family did so much of the work that led to the reaffirmation of tribal treaty-protected fishing rights. Evans was governor in 1974 when Federal Judge George Boldt issued his historic ruling protecting those rights. While the Boldt decision was a landmark one, Billy Frank shakes his head and says it came too late. He blames the state for never having a plan to save the salmon and manage natural resources. Saving the Salmon"Everyone thought there never would be an end to harvesting salmon, but there is an end," he says. "There is no political will to protect the salmon. They can put money toward it, but nobody enforces anything. Everybody today is scared of the property rights people. But we have run-off problems and, goddammit, people have to fix their septic systems!" The Boldt decision may have defused the violence, but Frank says there is still plenty of conflict that requires his attention. Implementation and resource management continue to be a struggle. "I've been through seven governors now and I don't know how many agency directors," he says, rolling his eyes. "They're political people and I've got to try to keep 'em on course. That's a big job. "You have to find a balance. If they're all down the middle of the road, natural resources will survive. If they veer off to the left or veer off to the right, you have problems. You have to stay the course. We have to be careful with what we have so we can protect our working watersheds." A good watershed is one where the fish are rotting, Frank explains, because that means the birds, the little critters and the rest of the ecosystem can thrive. "That, to me, is one of the best sights," he says. He laughs when he recalls a meeting with officials from the Washington Public Power Supply System, better known today as Whoops. "I came into this power group and started talking about fish. I told them that's salmon coming out of those lights of theirs every time they turn 'em on," he says. His comments became fodder for an editorial cartoon in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer by Pulitzer Prize winner David Horsey. Collaboration Is the KeyFrank complains there aren't enough opportunities today for industry, tribes and the government to sit at the table together and generate solutions. Take eagles, for example. He gets snarky when he describes a television commentator who claims there's an overpopulation of eagles. "Television is stupid," he quips. "In 1976, we all got together – the timber people, the federal government, the state, the tribes – and we brought the eagles back. We turned it around and protected the eagle. We can't do these things anymore." His proudest moments? When he testified before Congress about collaborations among the tribes up and down the coast while Congress listened…and then acted. That, he says, is past history. Here's how he sees it: "The negative side of life is that our country is in probably the worst shape I've seen it in politically. There's no leadership, no commitment anymore and it's not good. If we can't keep it together, it'll disintegrate. "Greed has taken over this country. When will people learn we don't need all the money? We can't take it with us." Billy Frank has received numerous local, state and national honors in his lifetime. In addition to the American Indian Visionary Award, given for exceptional contributions to American Indian freedom, he also was honored with the Albert Schweitzer Award for Humanitarianism and the Martin Luther King, Jr., Distinguished Service Award for Humanitarian Achievement. He credits his tribe, his culture, his grandparents and parents for giving him the drive and dedication to become who he is. He says his Dad Willie didn't look for trouble. He went around it. Frank offers the same advice to his 21-year-old son Willie today. Billy Frank definitely lives by rules that say a lot about him in a few words. And here they are:
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It's as though Billy Frank is a bridge between Native American tradition and hope for the future. Frank, recipient of the 2006 Horace Mann Award, says he doesn't believe in magic. Maybe not, but he sure knows how to create magic.