The Loon's Necklace

This short 16 mm film was part of a series made by Crawley Films and the NFB. It was standard "showing" in elementary schools of the Protestant School Commission of Greater Montreal. I have never forgotten it, particularly the "cry" of the loon. Because of this movie, I am certain no one of my generation was ignorant of why the 'loon' was stamped on our $1.00 coin. Today's students don't know why the loon is there at all. We also all remember that the story of the "necklace" is an Indian Tale, and tell-tale of the beautiful markings of this bird which might look like a duck, but doesn't sound like one! The film is respectful of Indian legend. In my Montreal world of the 40's and 50's children were not raised with any prejudice against aboriginal people, and I remember going to a theatre in Westmount to hear a talk by "Chief Poking Fire" (who was, I suppose, comparable to the West Coast's "Chief Dan George").