[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 43 (Monday, March 12, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S1633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 430--EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE DESIGNATION OF MARCH 
9, 2018, AS A NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE IN HONOR OF THE LIFE, LEGACY, 
              AND MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF BILLY FRANK, JR.

  Ms. CANTWELL (for herself and Mrs. Murray) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 430

       Whereas, in the 1850s, the United States Government signed 
     a series of treaties with Washington State Tribes under which 
     the Tribes granted millions of acres of land to the United 
     States in exchange for the establishment of reservations and 
     the recognition of traditional hunting, fishing, and 
     gathering rights;
       Whereas Billy Frank, Jr., was born to Willie Frank, Sr., 
     and Angeline Frank on March 9, 1931, at Frank's Landing on 
     the banks of the Nisqually River in Washington State;
       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 resulted 
     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 Washington issued 
     a decision that affirmed the right of Washington 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 Supreme 
     Court of the United States upheld the Boldt decision;
       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 member 
     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 Distinguished Service 
     Award, the Washington State Environmental Excellence Award, 
     and the Wallace Stegner Award for his years of service and 
     dedication to his battle;
       Whereas, in 2015, Billy Frank, Jr., was posthumously 
     awarded 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 nearby McAllister Creek, 
     where the Medicine Creek Treaty was signed in 1854 between 
     the United States Government and the Nisqually, Muckleshoot, 
     Puyallup, and Squaxin Island Tribes;
       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 Senate supports a national day of 
     remembrance in honor of the life, legacy, and many 
     accomplishments of Billy Frank, Jr.

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