Sometimes it takes a partnership to make a book.
A pair of recent books, in which the University of Washington Press partnered with other entities, enriches local history and art history.
“Where the Salmon Run: The Life and Legacy of Billy Frank Jr.,” by Trova Heffernan, is a you-are-there biography of the Nisqually tribal activist who passed through the crucible of the 1960s and 1970s fishing wars to become a leading figure in his tribe and an environmental steward.
Frank, born in 1931, was arrested more than 50 times during those two decades of social change. He has been chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission for the last 30 years.
The fishing rights battles drew the likes of Marlon Brando and Dick Gregory to the Pacific Northwest, as the struggle over Discovery Park drew Jane Fonda — celebrity-activists who dropped in and dropped out, bringing much-needed publicity to the struggle but leaving the hard work to those who were here first.
Trova, director of the state’s Legacy Project, has done a good job getting the reader into the narrative flow of Frank’s admirable life; she’s not afraid of quoting people who pull no punches when it comes reflecting the different ways Native Americans and whites look at the world.
One passage recounting the Native American takeover of Fort Lawton in 1970 — led by Bernie Whitebear, Frank’s contemporary — speaks volumes. The invasion triggered a call from the Italian News Agency, asking if it was true, “You have 12,000 Indians living in your city.” The bewildered journalist then asked, “How do they get along with everybody else?”
The response at the Seattle end of the line: “They are everybody else.”
“Where the Salmon Run: The Life and Legacy of Billy Frank Jr.,” by Trova Heffernan. Published by the University of Washington Press and Office of the Secretary of State’s Washington State Heritage Legacy Project. 328 pages; 50 illustrations. Hardcover. $40
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or those who couldn’t make it over to the Bellevue Art Museum’s exhibit “Knitted, Knotted, Twisted & Twined: The Jewelry of Mary Lee Hu,” which ran Feb. 7 to June 17, the exhibition’s accompanying book is now in general circulation.
Born in Ohio, Hu most recently taught at the University of Washington for 16 years as a professor of art until retirement in 2006. She still lives in Seattle and is a well-known metal smith, jewelry maker and educator known for her innovative designs that evoke modern twists on classical forms.
“Knitted” reproduces about 100 neckpieces, earrings and rings and sculptural forms and comes with insightful, well-written essays worthy of Hu’s work.
“Knitted, Knotted, Twisted and Twined: The Jewelry of Mary Lee Hu,” by Stefano Catalani, Jeannine Falino and Janet Koplos. Published by the University of Washington Press, with the Bellevue Art Museum. 128 pages; 100 color illustrations. $34.95.