A focus on activist Billy Frank Jr. timed with community display of his statue

In the month of March, elementary schools in Bellingham Public Schools have focused on the life and work of Billy Frank Jr. through schoolwide assemblies, consistent lessons in classrooms and informative hallway displays.

Our International Baccalaureate (IB) elementary schools honored Frank’s legacy by tying his activism to the risk-taker attribute, showing how his courage made him “resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.”

Kristin Gresham, instructional coach and IB coordinator at both Birchwood and Silver Beach elementary schools, shared that “our district prioritized sharing knowledge about Treaty Rights activist Billy Frank Jr., recognizing him as one of the most influential Indigenous activists of our time.”

Lessons were shared with elementary teaching staff. The teaching resources integrated multiple standards and skills: John McCoy (lulilaš) Since Time Immemorial curriculum, research skills, reading, and writing. Students demonstrated these skills by creating informational writing pieces about the Billy Frank Jr.’s influential activism related to Treaty and Fishing Rights. For more detailed information about this approach, please refer to the fourth-grade curriculum section below.

Across schools, the lessons on Billy Frank Jr.’s legacy were also integrated with lessons in history, science and art.

At Cordata Elementary, for example, instructional coach Michelle Hornof shared that a first-grade class focused on Billy Frank Jr. after an assembly where they learned he had been arrested numerous times for his protests in support of fishing rights. According to Hornof, the students wanted to understand why he was arrested and dove into learning more about the broken promises of the Treaty of Point Elliott. “Student were excited to learn more,” she said. “They also connected their learning to their salmon life cycle unit.”

Cordata first grade teacher Aman Pannu told us that her students “enjoyed sharing what they learned about Billy Frank Jr. and his importance in protecting salmon.” Salmon paintings and biographical facts about Frank are posted in the school hallway to honor his legacy this month.

Maquette of Billy Frank Jr. on display

The focus on Frank’s legacy this school year is timed with a three-dimensional scaled model of a statue of him (known in artistic terms as a maquette) on display at various community locations including at the Whatcom Museum March 12 through April 11. The maquette will also be on display at the District Office in the Barkley area April 23 through the end of May.

Columbia Elementary School fourth graders took a field trip to the museum early in April to view the maquette and learn more about Billy Frank Jr. Each student had a chance to write what they will do to protect the salmon of the Pacific Northwest, just as Frank had done in his life.

On April 4, during Free First Friday activities downtown, the public can view the four-foot tall maquette in the Old City Hall Rotunda Room free of charge. There will also be a screening of the documentary Fish War at 5:30 p.m. and clips from a film by Children of the Setting Sun Productions about the statue project. Learn more here.

The full-sized bronze statue will stand nine feet tall and sit on a two foot granite pedestal when finished. Created by Chinese-American artist Hai Ying Wu, it will be installed later this year in Washington, D.C. in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall. The statue project began with a 2021 law signed by former Governor Jay Inslee that would make Billy Frank, Jr. the first contemporary Native American represented in the National Statuary Hall Collection. The U.S. Capitol displays statues from each state.

At the unveiling of the statue maquette in Olympia in 2024, Inslee said “we are so proud we are sending the best of Washington state to Washington, D.C.”

Frank was a member of the Nisqually Tribe and was known for his activism around treaty rights. In the 1960s and 70s, he led the efforts to defend tribal fishing rights which ultimately led to the 1974 Boldt Decision (United States v. Washington). The landmark decision affirmed the rights of American Indian tribes in securing half of the annual fish harvest and set up co-management of state fisheries. Frank served as the chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) for more than 30 years.

In 2014, Washington state named his birth date March 9 as Billy Frank Jr. Day and the City of Bellingham renamed what was previously known as Indian Street to Billy Frank Jr. Street. In 2015, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge near Tacoma was also renamed after him.

Learn more about Billy Frank Jr. through two different videos: one about his activism here and one about the statue project here.

Where we are in place and time: fourth-grade units of inquiry on Billy Frank Jr.
Shared by instructional coaches Kristin Gresham and Kirsten Jensen

“Our district has been privileged to learn from our esteemed tribal communities, the Lummi Nation and Nooksack Tribe. As part of our International Baccalaureate (IB) “Where We Are in Place and Time” units, our fourth-grade classes have incorporated Treaty Day learning, which includes studying the remarkable legacy of Billy Frank Jr.

Our district prioritized sharing knowledge about Treaty Rights activist Billy Frank Jr., recognizing him as one of the most influential Indigenous activists of our time. Billy Frank Jr. exemplifies the IB learner profile attribute of being a risk-taker, defined as “someone who approaches unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, having the independence to explore new roles, ideas, and strategies.”

Through structured expert groups, all fourth-grade students across the district engaged with Billy Frank Jr.’s life and activism. This instructional strategy effectively integrated research, reading, and writing skills as students composed informational pieces about his impactful work and life journey.

Our elementary schools implemented an assembly presentation incorporating materials adapted from the Billy Frank Jr. Salmon Defense Fund Curriculum.. This curriculum was enhanced through valuable feedback from the Lummi Natural Resources Department and Billy Frank Jr.’s family.

The assembly presentation featured the Billy Frank Jr. statue. Students had additional learning opportunities through “The Legacy, Billy Frank Jr. Statue project,” a documentary produced by  Children of the Setting Sun  and distributed through ArtWA. This project was led by Noelani Auguston from Shxwhá:y Village of the Sto:lo Nation, who has familial connections to both Lummi and Nooksack communities. Her exceptional leadership in developing Billy Frank Jr. poetry lessons has enriched our students’ and staff’s learning experience, embodying the spirit of being a risk-taker.”

Billy Frank Jr. quotes

“Salmon face great challenges during their life journey. With their numbers falling, we have to work harder to help them on their way. As long as they continue to swim upstream, so should we.”

“I don’t believe in magic. I believe in the sun and the stars, the water, the tides, the floods, the owls, the hawks flying, the river running, the wind talking. They tell us how healthy we are. Because we and they are the same.”