11 The Great Lakes: A Model of Transboundary Cooperation

So begins Holling Clancy Holling’s classic children’s book, Paddle to the Sea, which describes the voyage of a small carved canoe, beginning on a river entering Lake Superior and travelling through each of the five Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence River and eventually to the Atlantic Ocean ( Holling 1941 ). The book, written and illustrated by an American, was first published in 1941 and remains in print. A film of the same title based on Holling’s book was produced by the National Film Board of Canada in 1966 and directed by the famous Canadian naturalist and author, Bill Mason. Paddle to the Sea is a fitting introduction to this chapter: the book and the film have educated generations of children on both sides of the border about the physical, economic, and cultural dimensions of a distinct place known as the Great Lakes. Like the Great Lakes, Paddle to the Sea is both Canadian and American, and has helped to produce a unique history and culture. The unfolding of that history, in turn, has influenced the Great Lakes, contributing to a process where nature and society have evolved in relation to one another ( Linton 2010 , 24‐44). In this respect, this chapter is different from the others in Part II of this volume: rather than seeing it as a “flashpoint,” we see the Great Lakes as a transboundary success story. For the most part, the lakes have given Canadians and Americans opportunities to collaborate. ! e Great Lakes continue to be signi" cant in di# erent ways to Americans and Canadians. ! e lakes constantly present both countries with new challenges, and they have sometimes acted as a source of contention between the