OLYMPIA, Wash. — The chairman of the Nisqually Indian Tribe, Willie Frank III, knows what it’s like to need help.
“I myself, I’m in recovery,” said Frank, who in 2014 was arrested for attempted bank robbery and theft.
Speaking at the future site of the tribe’s medically-assisted treatment facility in Olympia, Frank said his past experiences with drugs, motivated him to help get the facility project started.
”Everything does happen for a reason," said Frank.
The tribe is paying for about half of the 22,000-square-foot facility, set to open in January of 2025. State and federal funds are paying for the rest, said a Nisqually spokesperson.
The investment is personal for Frank, who said he found himself in the depths of an opioid addiction nearly a decade ago.
”July 2nd is my recovery date, 2014,” said Frank.
That’s the day Olympia police arrested Frank after tellers at two Olympia banks called 911 about Frank repeatedly walking in and out of banks. Frank had a toy gun with him and later told detectives he planned on robbing one of the banks, but his conscience made him think otherwise.
In April of that year, he stole more than $50,000 from the tribe’s seafood and tobacco accounts. Frank was vice chair of the tribe and had check-writing authority.
”You hit trials and tribulations in your life, you can either go up or down,” said Frank, who following his arrest, decided to take responsibility for his actions.
After pleading guilty to the theft and attempted theft charges, he was sentenced to home detention and sent to a treatment facility. He said he had not used drugs since the day he was arrested.
Frank, III, was also required to pay back the tribe all of its money.
Frank credits his sobriety to his wife Peggen, and lessons he learned from his father, Billy Frank, Jr.
Frank, Jr., had his own brushes with the law, getting arrested dozens of times fighting for tribal fishing rights.
But he is remembered as a civil rights hero, whose actions were justified by treaties with the U.S. government.
After his death in 2014, Frank, Jr. received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
”I really think of him and my grandfather,” said Frank, III, “They could have been the most bitter human beings in the world when it comes to talking about the state, and non-tribal folks. But they weren’t. They were people who brought us together and you can see that today.”
Frank is proud the future treatment center will be open to non-tribal members as well as those affiliated with the Nisqually Indian Tribe.
“This fentanyl crisis that we're dealing with, it doesn’t pick races, colors anything,” said Frank.