Marcus Whitman Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Scrutiny Mounts Against Legacy Of Northwest Missionary Marcus Whitman

By NWPB News June 1, 2021

The legacy of Marcus Whitmas and his missionary efforts in the 19th century are under increasing scrutiny, which Washington state lamakers recently voting to replace his statue in the U.S. Capitol with one of Native American rights leader Billy Frank Jr. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

For generations Marcus Whitman has been widely viewed as an iconic figure from early Pacific Northwest history, a venerated Protestant missionary who was among 13 people killed by the Cayuse tribe near modern-day Walla Walla, Washington, in 1847.Read More

It’s Official: Statue Honoring Billy Frank Jr. To Replace Marcus Whitman At U.S. Capitol

By Tom Banse April 14, 2021

Billy Frank Jr. poses at Frank's Landing on the Nisqually River near Olympia on June 29, 2012. CREDIT: Ted. S. Warren/AP

The Billy Frank Jr. statue would replace one of Oregon Trail pioneer Marcus Whitman. The larger-than-life bronze of Whitman has stood in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall for nearly 70 years.Read More

Washington Legislature Approves Bill To Honor Billy Frank Jr., Replacing Marcus Whitman At Capitol

By NWPB News April 6, 2021

A statue of tribal rights activist Billy Frank, Jr., left, could someday replace pioneer missionary Marcus Whitman in the U.S. Capitol. CREDIT: NWIFC 2007/Glenn Drosendahl

A measure to honor the late Billy Frank Jr. with a statue at the U.S. Capitol cleared the Legislature Monday. On a 44-5 bipartisan vote, the Democratic-led Senate approved the bill that seeks to replace Washington’s Marcus Whitman statue in the National Statuary Hall Collection with a statue of Frank, a Nisqually tribal member who championed treaty rights.Read More

Possible Statue Swap Of Billy Frank Jr. For Marcus Whitman Marks A Reckoning For Northwest History

By Tom Banse February 3, 2021

Leaders of seven Northwest tribes testified this week in favor of replacing a statue of Oregon Trail pioneer and missionary Marcus Whitman in the U.S. Capitol. A proposal pending in the Washington Legislature would install a statue of the late Native rights activist Billy Frank, Jr. in Whitman's place of honor.Read More

Sifting Through ‘Unsettled Ground’ Of The Whitman Massacre To Reckon With Northwest History

By NWPB News January 31, 2021

Unsettled Ground book cover - with Marcus Whitman statue

Cassandra Tate’s recent book on the storied white missionaries sheds light on a poorly understood chapter of our state’s settler past.Read More

Proposal To Replace Statues Of Northwest Pioneer Marcus Whitman Stokes Backlash In Olympia

By Tom Banse January 30, 2019

A proposal to remove the larger-than-life statues of pioneer missionary Marcus Whitman from the Washington state capitol and the U.S. Capitol drew angry responses during an initial legislative hearing in Olympia.Read More