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Bill would replace Marcus Whitman statue at U.S. Capitol with one of environmental leader Billy Frank Jr. By Maya Leshikar, The Seattle Times
Published: February 2, 2021, 7:50am
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OLYMPIA A statue of Dr. Marcus Whitman has stood on display in National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol for almost 70 years. Now, Washington state legislators are proposing to swap it out with another Northwestern icon: Nisqually tribal leader Billy Frank Jr.
The beloved environmental activist fought for the state to honor treaty fishing rights, becoming one of the foremost Native American leaders in the nation.
Frank, who died in 2014 at the age of 83, was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.