[1] Prior to the trip, which took place during the summer of 1930 and was sponsored by the Minneapolis Star, Sevareid and Port had just graduated from high school and set out to canoe from their hometown in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States to York Factory on the Hudson Bay of Canada.

[1] The book's title refers to Sevareid and Port encountering and interacting with the Cree nation on Lake Winnipeg during their journey.

[2][3][4] Since its initial publication, Canoeing with the Cree has inspired several canoeists to fully or partially recreate the path taken in the book.

Distant Fires went on to gain statewide success and an American Library Association award, with Sevareid praising the book's "happy phrasing".

[7] In the spring of 2008, two teenagers from Chaska, Minnesota sought to replicate Sevareid and Port's exact route: Sean Bloomfield and Colton Witte completed the journey in 49 days, garnering national attention along the way.