Billy Frank Jr. Maquette
About the Maquette
The Billy Frank Jr. maquette is a small-scale model of a statue that will be displayed in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C., being the first to depict a contemporary Native American.
This decision was part of a legislation passed in 2021 to replace the Marcus Whitman statue in the national statuary hall collection — found here HB 1372.
Haiying Wu was selected by the National Statuary Hall Selection Committee — co-chaired by Nisqually Chairman Willie Frank III, Lt. Governor Denny Heck, and Rep. Debra Lekanoff — to create the statue.
Haiying then built a “maquette” to understand the proportions, gesture, and arrangement of the different elements of the sculpture, which will later be developed into a full-scale clay statue cast in bronze.
The Unveiling Ceremony
On January 10, 2024, the Office of the Lt. Governor hosted a ceremony unveiling the maquette. It was an incredibly meaningful and emotional day for everyone in attendance, including Billy Frank Jr.’s son Willie Frank III, Haiying Wu, Gov. Jay Inslee, Nisqually Vice Chairwoman Antonette Squally, Rep. Debra Lekanoff, Rep. J.T. Wilcox, and Lt. Governor Denny Heck — among many other tribal leaders, Washington lawmakers, and community members.
“He was a dear friend of mine and I miss him everyday”
The Display
The maquette is now on display in our office, accompanied by a series of poster boards that tell the story of Billy Frank Jr.
Click here to view the display digitally!