Foundry awarded contract to cast Billy Frank Jr. statues by May 2026

The Billy Frank Jr. Statue Committee has awarded Classic Foundry of Seattle a contract to create two bronze statues of the tribal leader.
One statue will be installed in Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. and the second at the State Capitol building in Olympia.

Representatives from Classic Foundry and the Billy Frank Jr. Statue Committee, including Billy Frank Jr.’s son, Willie Frank III, and artist Haiying Wu, announced the foundry selection during a press conference at Wa He Lut Indian School on Thursday, Nov. 13.
ArtsWA awarded the contract to Classic Foundry following a state bid process conducted with the support of the Department of Enterprise Services, according to a news release.

Classic Foundry is located in South Seattle and specializes in bronze statue work. The contract requires both statues to be completed by May of 2026.

“We just want to thank you for trusting us,” Classic Foundry staff said to Wu and Willie Frank III during Thursday’s press conference.
Wu had a previous working relationship with Classic Foundry and attested to their ability to bring Wu’s clay model to life in bronze.
“I know they are a great facility, they can handle this project without any problem. I am sure we are going to knock this project out beautifully,” Wu said.

Wu was “very adamant to me about making sure we found the right foundry,” Willie Frank III said. “It sounds like we did”

WA Arts Public Arts Program Manager Mike Sweney said that Classic Foundry’s “expertise and craftsmanship will help bring this powerful tribute to completion.”

The foundry bid award and the commencement of work on the final statues represent the culmination of a project that began in 2021, when then-Governor Jay Inslee signed the enabling legislation at Frank’s Landing at Wa He Lut Indian School.

“In 2021, when we first stood here and signed this legislation, not a lot of people knew who my father was, and that’s myself included. I had to learn a bit about who Billy Frank Jr. was, and also where I come from, and that’s why it was so important to be here today at the Wa He Lut Indian School,” Willie Frank III said Thursday.

Willie Frank III spoke about the significance of the traditional name he shares with his grandfather and father, describing the meaning as “the instant between night and day, when it’s neither night nor day, a time of calm and peace, where the two halves of a circle meet.”

Billy Frank Jr. lived up to his name in his work to put aside differences and “do what’s right for the good of human beings,” Willie Frank III said.

Sweeney said the statue of Billy Frank Jr. will “serve as both a reflection of his courage and a reminder of the values that he championed: environmental stewardship, justice, and building bridges across the forces that divide us.”

A half-scale replica of the statue, called a maquette, has been making its way around Washington, visiting schools, tribes, museums, libraries and government buildings.

The maquette was most-recently on display in the lobby of the Atrium, where the Thurston County Government conducts business.