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canoes and clashes 87Years later, after the dust settled, Billy reminded the fisheriesmanagers about his missing canoe: “You guys got my canoe!”Frank Haw went looking for it, and discovered the canoe in theSeattle warehouse in 1980. “So by golly, it was Billy’s birthday as Irecall,” Haw says. “We had some kind of a little get together. And thatwas during the Ray Administration and Gordon Sandison was there.And I mentioned this to Gordon, ‘I heard that Billy’s canoe is inour storage shed some place. Let’s give it back to him.’ And Gordonthought that was a great idea. So, it took a big truck because of thesize and weight of this thing, and we hauled it to the place where wehad this little get together and presented it to Billy.”The canoe had dry rotted over sixteen years. Its original carver,Johnny Bob, then ninety years old, restored it, and Billy’s historic canoenow hangs from the ceiling of Wa He Lut Indian School looking outon the Nisqually River.Billy’s mother was aghast at the array of brawls unfolding on herdoorstep. “Oh boy, they had a fight! They were stopping the Indiansfrom fishing, and this is Indian land,” Angeline cried in utter dismay.Witnesses provide varying accounts of the uproar on October 13,1965 like bystanders reconstructing the scene of a fatal car crash. TheIndians’ take is documented in affidavits and a special report, TheLast Indian War. The state’s perspective is articulated in a subsequentinvestigation and report sent to the governor.From the Game Department’s perspective, its enforcers showedremarkable restraint. They knew about the planned fish-in. Accordingto the rumor mill, Indians planned to use firearms against stateofficers “if need be to protect their rights.”As officers huddled at an Olympia warehouse that morning, BobJosephson, chief of Patrol, gave orders to observe, warn, and arrestquickly. Two four-man crews crouched in nearby powered patrolboats. Roughly thirty additional officers scattered across NisquallyHill.Around 4:00 p.m., fishermen threw in their nets. Officers approached