Thursday, October 1, 2026
As the state of Washington prepares to place Billy Frank Jr. among the nation’s historic figures in Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C., local officials are channeling his legacy into a training budget.
The Thurston County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) authorized a $3,000 expenditure for two courses with South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) and its foundation at a work session on Wednesday, Sept. 10.
The money comes from a $15,000 diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) budget line that has not yet been spent. The program is going to run in October.
The first session will be a three-hour training course for county and SPSCC employees. The second will be an evening community forum moderated by Willie Frank III.
Attendance is estimated at 200, with 100 seats for county staff and the rest for SPSCC faculty.
Commissioner Carolina Mejia said the courses address “county government relationships with tribal governments and how they intersect and work together, and how we can better, improve that cultural awareness.”
Board Vice Chair Wayne Fournier said the format follows a Pierce County workshop. He noted the timing coincides with installation of Frank’s bronze statue in Olympia and Washington, D.C.
Commissioner Emily Clouse inquired about the source of the funds. County Manager Leonard Hernandez said the funding was covered under the DEI budget requested by the board on May 6 during an agenda setting meeting that advanced ‘Fish Wars’ educational programs.
The Fish Wars of the 1960s and 1970s were a series of tribal-led protests against state restrictions on fishing rights guaranteed under 19th-century treaties.
The protests gained national attention and culminated in the 1974 Boldt Decision, a ruling that affirmed tribal rights to half of Washington’s salmon harvest and reshaped federal and tribal relations.
Commissioner Rachel Grant acknowledged the county is pressing departments to cut costs, but said she would back the expenditure.
“I do believe that this specific training … is a really good opportunity and I believe that training is really important for staff and for staff retention,” she said.
Board Chair Tye Menser said the amount of money was small compared to the county’s larger public expenditures and urged the board to keep that in mind. The motion passed unanimously.
Fournier linked the county’s action to wider efforts at the state and local level to honor Frank’s legacy.
In 2021, the Washington Legislature enacted House Bill 1372. The law set aside a $1.5 million and directed the replacement of Marcus Whitman as Washington’s representative in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall with a statue of Billy Frank Jr., according to ArtsWA.
In 2023, Sculptor Haiying Wu was commissioned to create the statue after consultations with the Nisqually Tribe and the Frank family.
Then, in January 2024, The JOLT reported that a 4-foot maquette of the statue was presented at the State Reception Room in Olympia before more than 150 attendees.
By October 2024, Wu had finished the full-scale clay model at South Puget Sound Community College. ArtsWA and the Nisqually Tribe opened his workspace for weekday public viewings, while Children of the Setting Sun Productions released a video series documenting the project.
In August 2025, ArtsWA advanced the effort into the casting stage.
The agency solicited bids from Washington foundries to produce two bronze statues, each 9 feet tall on a 2-foot pedestal. The contract was valued at about $250,000.
One statue is scheduled for installation in Washington, D.C., later this year. The second is going to be placed on the Capitol Campus in Olympia in early 2026.
ArtsWA confirmed Frank will be the first Native American leader from Washington represented in the U.S. Capitol collection.
Recognition has also extended to county government. On March 9, Pierce County proclaimed Billy Frank Jr. Day in recognition of his role in the Fish Wars and the 1974 Boldt Decision.
Frank, born in 1931, was arrested more than 50 times during the 1960s and 1970s for holding “fish-ins” against state restrictions. He later chaired the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission wherein he mediated between tribes and the state on salmon and habitat, until his death in 2014 at age 83.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story referred to Willie Frank III, a son of Billy Frank, Jr., as Billy Frank III. We regret the error.
5 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
RondaLarsonKramer
Just a correction to the photograph caption: Ken Choke is the current chairman of the Nisqually Tribe, not Willie Frank III. The election occurred over a year ago.
Saturday, September 13, 2025 Report this
OlyBlues
It's really astonishing the county continues to blow money on special feel good projects like this when they are broke and in a budget shortfall. This is totally irresponsible spending. The county must get back to the basics and concentrate on services they are statutorily required to provide.
Saturday, September 13, 2025 Report this
SusanFern70
Way to bury the lede. Halfway thru the story, we find out WHAT THE TRAINING COURSES ARE TEACHING. SMH
Sunday, September 14, 2025 Report this
TellOurStory
The Picture included in this article was from January of 2024.
At the Billy Frank Jr. Staue Unveiling Ceremony at the Washington State Capital.
Monday, September 15, 2025 Report this
wildnature
I salute making Billy Frank Jr the representative of our state, commemorated by a statue here and In DC. So well deserved.
Monday, September 15, 2025 Report this