A member of the Muckleshoot Tribe, Dr. Willard Bill, Sr. had over forty years experience educating Indian and non-Indian students at all levels.

He attended Central Washington State University and graduated with a Bachelors of Education, earned an M.ED from Pacific Lutheran University and a Ph.D at the University of Washington. Bill taught in the Auburn school district and later worked at Skagit Valley Community College as Director of a vocational training program for Indian reservations. From there, Bill moved to the University of Washington’s Office of Minority Affairs (OMA) where he was active in the UW’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP). He subsequently joined the UW Department of Education where he was a faculty member for ten years.

After leaving the UW, Bill worked at the Washington State Department of Education and North Seattle Community College before becoming the Dean of Social Science for the Seattle Community College District. He served as the Muckleshoot tribal historian and vefore his death was writing a book about the tribe’s history. Dr. Willard Bill passed away on December 26, 2007 at age 69.

Willard Bill shared his memories in an interview with Teresa Brownwolf Powers at Daybreak Star Cultural Center in fall 2005. To the right are streaming-video excerpts of the interview. Video editing by Daren Salter. 

Work on this interview was made possible by a grant from 4Culture/King County Lodging Tax.