[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 171 (Thursday, November 19, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S8165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. CANTWELL:
  S. 2326. A bill to designate the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, 
located in the State of Washington, as the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually 
National Wildlife Refuge, to establish the Medicine Creek Treaty 
National Memorial within the wildlife refuge, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, last year the Pacific Northwest, and the 
Nation lost one of our greatest civil rights heroes with the passing of 
Billy Frank, Jr. It is clear a great leader has been lost when an 
entire community shows up to commemorate his life and celebrate his 
spirit. I attended Billy's memorial, along with Senator Murray and 
6,000 others, and was honored to have the chance to pay tribute to the 
man who fought for the civil rights of Native Americans, the principles 
of environmental stewardship, and the importance of salmon recovery and 
preservation in the Pacific Northwest.
  Today, I am introducing the Billy Frank Jr. Tell Your Story Act, 
which would change the name of the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge 
to the ``Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.'' In 
addition, this legislation would create a national memorial to 
commemorate the signing of the Medicine Creek Treaty, the treaty that 
Billy Frank fought so hard to enforce, within the refuge. The wildlife 
refuge sits adjacent to the Nisqually Reservation where Billy grew up 
and lived, and contains the estuary and salmon that Billy devoted his 
life to protecting.
  Billy Frank, Jr. just wanted to fish. He was a fisherman to his core, 
and that's how he wanted history to remember him. Everyone who knew 
Billy would want us to remember him as the legend that walked and 
fished among us. Given his life, his legacy, and the way he changed 
Washington State and the Nation, it is only right that we honor his 
legacy by forever linking his name to the Nisqually National Wildlife 
Refuge.
  Along with his advocacy for protecting Tribal treaty rights, Billy 
Frank changed the way we look at the environment. Because of his 
advocacy, we now have environmental restoration efforts throughout the 
Puget Sound, including at the Nisqually River Delta, the largest tidal 
marsh rehabilitation in the Northwest. Additionally, we have the Puget 
Sound Partnership, a Tribal and public-private partnership dedicated to 
improve the health of our Puget Sound. Billy understood that we have a 
sacred responsibility to be stewards of our environment, and that we 
must leave it for future generations in better condition than it was 
left to us.
  The Billy Frank Jr. Tell Your Story Act has the support of the 
Nisqually Tribe and the neighboring Puyallup Tribe, along with the 
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, the National Congress of 
American Indians, and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. A 
companion bill introduced by Congressman Denny Heck has been approved 
by the House Natural Resources Committee and is awaiting consideration 
by the House. I urge its passage in the Senate, especially given the 
recent decision by President Obama to posthumously award Billy the 
Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  Billy grew up listening to the stories of his father and others 
belonging to the Nisqually and other tribes. Routinely harassed for 
fishing his tribe's namesake Nisqually River with nets, Willie Frank, 
Sr. recalled a warden telling him, ``Your treaty isn't worth the paper 
it's printed on.'' Billy's father always told him, ``Just keep fishing. 
Even if they arrested you, just keep fishing. Even if they beat you 
just keep fishing. Keep fishing and claim what was promised in the in 
the Medicine Creek Treaty.'' By changing the name of the Nisqually 
wildlife refuge, we will not only honor the fisherman that fought to 
protect the land and its people, but we will make this land better than 
it was left to us, just like Billy Frank, Jr. would have wanted.
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