It is 1919, and Niska, the last Oji-Cree medicine woman to live off the land, has recieved word that one of the 2 boys she saw off to the Great War has returned. Xavier Bird, her only relative, is gravely wounded and addicted to morphine. As Niska paddles her canoe on the 3-day journey to take Xavier home, travelling throught the stark and stunning landscape of Northern Ontario, their respective stories emerge - stories of Niska's life amongst her kin and Xavier's horrifying experiences in the killing fields of Ypres and the Somme.

Winner Evergreen 2006.