A message from Lorraine Loomis, chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission:

For years, as Chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Billy Frank Jr. wrote a column called Being Frank.

From September 1986 to May 2014, these columns ran in NWIFC publications and newspapers across the region. His words document the challenges that tribes faced as we exercised our treaty rights, fought to responsibly manage fisheries, and raised our voice against the loss of salmon habitat.

The political players and news headlines changed over the years, but Billy’s message remained the same: We must recover wild salmon populations to levels that can sustain harvest. We are losing habitat faster than it can be restored, and hatchery programs are essential to make up for the lost and damaged habitat.

This book brings together for the first time every Being Frank column Billy wrote. It also serves as a reminder for us to keep on telling the truth.