KUOW: Billy Frank Jr. still fighting for salmon and treaty rights

After the historic Boldt Decision in 1974, which acknowledged Native American rights to fish and harvest shellfish in their “usual and accustomed grounds,” Frank turned to protecting salmon and the environment. He has served as the chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission for more than 30 years.

“When I was a young kid and drifting on the Nisqually River, I always wondered who is going to take care of us? I look over here at the sportsmen and the game department – they take care of them,” Frank said. “But I look at us Indians and nobody takes care of us, no infrastructure or anything. Well, today we have an infrastructure now, with the Northwest Indians Fishing Commission and all of our tribes.”

To the tribes, salmon is more than sustenance or a livelihood. “Salmon is in our blood. That’s how it is: It’s there, and we want to keep it there,” Frank said.

Today, salmon are challenged by pollution, the debate over hatchery and the wild fish, and even managing the sea lion population. But Frank said the Commission – which includes a staff of biologists, geneticists and fisheries managers – has the best science there to combat the dwindling population.