Plot

This film recounts the adventures of a toy Native American canoe as it makes its way from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.

This Oscar-nominated short film chronicles the fictional story of a floating carved canoe from the early Spring release in the Nipigon region of Ontario, Canada, to the sea, eventually discovered, retrieved, repainted, and re-released into the sea off the Cape North Lighthouse at Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. A land trip of the same route, along the waterways, clocks in at over 2500 miles/ 4000 km. The carving was made as a winter project by a Native American boy, including carving, painting, adding a lead seam at the bottom to ensure upright flotation, then released into the nearby water source to take it down the Nipigon River, its Bay, and then into Lake Superior. The boat travels the Great Lakes of Superior, Huron, and Erir, dropping over Niagara Falls to Lake Ontario and beyond via the St. Lawrence River. It passes over dams, and through whirlpools along the way, sometimes encountering wildlife and natural disasters like fires and floods. It passes great named cities such as Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec, always moving past their skylines seaward, sometimes encountering great ocean-going vessels, and maritime adventures through the canals and locks along the seaway. The film acknowledges at least one winter where it became ice-blocked until the spring thaw. The boat had a carved message to any who retrieved it "Please put me back in the water", so those lucky enough to catch and retrieve it were accommodating to the continued journey. The film concludes with the lighthouse keeper's release of the newly refurbished canoe toward a hopeful future in the ocean.