where the salmon run - Washington Secretary of State

Chapter 2
“I Live Here!”
Billy Frank Jr. took his first breath on March 9, 1931, six days after
President Herbert Hoover signed “The Star-Spangled Banner” into
law as the national anthem. One day, Billy would defend his country;
then he’d spend a lifetime challenging the nation to rise to its ideals.
The Nisqually Indian grew up in a small house on the river, not far
from the historic Medicine Creek Treaty council grounds. Most people
wouldn’t have called the Franks rich, but Billy’s father often said they
had everything and more outside their back window. “When the tide is
out, the table is set.” The Nisqually River meandered through Billy’s
backyard, fanning out over the land and flowing into Puget Sound.
Nearby, fishermen landed canoes and loaded salmon onto scales,
exchanging stories and laughs.
The town of Nisqually was small, “a couple of gas stations and a
tavern,” recalls Herman Dillon, a longtime family friend. The future
chairman of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians met Billy sometime between
sliding into first base and plunging into the river. “You’d think we
were a couple of monkeys climbing trees,” Dillon jokes. They played
a lot of baseball. They spent even more time on the river. And they
fished.
Most of Billy’s indelible childhood memories are set in the natural
world. He grew up a fisherman, like his ancestors. On the same river,
31