Kayak to Klemtu

Knowing of his terminal illness, west coast First Nations Dave Ellis, also known as Bear to family and friends, asked his fourteen year old niece, Ella, before his passing, to speak on his behalf at the last of the hearings, this one to be held in their homeland of Klemtu on the central coast of British Columbia, of the impact of pipelines and west coast oil tanker traffic on First Nations people and their indigenous lands and water. This request is despite Ella, Bear's sister Maureen's daughter, never having lived in Klemtu - she being raised in Vancouver - and being ill-prepared in her own mind to speak on his behalf especially on such an issue of which she has no first hand knowledge. Long having discussed such a trip with Bear to learn more about her ancestral homelands, Ella comes up with the idea to do what should be the just under one month, 500 kilometer kayak trip from Lund, where Bear's cynical brother Don has been managing the family start-up of an oyster shop purchased by Bear to bring the family together, to Klemtu in time for the hearing, Ella planning to scatter Bear's ashes along the way. Maureen okays the trip only on the caveat that Don is the guide. Up for the trip, if not physically but emotionally, is Bear's Causasian widow, Vancouver schoolteacher Cory, and Cory's teenage son Alex, who Bear adopted when they got married, who has been living in Lund with Don working at the shop, but who, instead of going to college, aspires to move back "home" to Klemtu. Convincing Don may be another matter, not only having his hands full with the shop in Lund, but because of his strained relationship with his seventeen year old son Dean, who has been been maintaining his boat in Klemtu during his stay in Lund. Even if Ella is able to make the trip happen, this ragtag group has the obvious obstacle of their collective inexperience which may dictate whether Ella will be able to honor Bear both by getting in touch with the land of her ancestors and providing that testimony at the hearing.