Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Firekeeper’s Daughter, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Justice
Generational Trauma and Bigotry
Ceremony, Pride, and Healing
Love, Honesty, and Respect
Coming of Age
Family and Community
Summary
Analysis
Ron, assuming Daunis is shivering from the cold, wraps her in a blanket and helps her into the front seat. She asks him to drive her home, and they sit in the driveway. It feels comforting to Daunis; it reminds her of when Coach Bobby would drive her home after games. Ron asks if Daunis can say what happened with Jamie, but Daunis wonders to herself why she’s so mad at Jamie and not at Ron. Ron acts like a professional agent, but Jamie makes Daunis feel important. But maybe Jamie just isn’t cut out for undercover work. Daunis says she confronted Jamie about the fake relationship; the fight was one-sided. Ron sighs that Jamie should change careers before he looks like Quasimodo. They both laugh.
Though Coach Bobby hasn’t appeared in person much in the novel, he continues to show up like this, in Daunis’s fond memories of him helping her and making her feel safe and comforted. In this way, she continues to include him in her community. Ron, somehow, steps into a similar role—perhaps because both he and Daunis know what his goal is. Jamie, on the other hand, seems to struggle with navigating the line between real and fake relationships, which makes his relationship with Daunis confusing.
Themes
Inside, Daunis discovers that Mom is sleeping at GrandMary’s house, seemingly to give Daunis and Jamie privacy. When Daunis is ready for bed, she soothes herself by touching the beads on Dad’s choker and saying her Spirit name again and again. When she falls asleep, she’s back in the night Travis shot Lily. Lily is dead, and Travis tells Daunis that “They” are so mad at him. Lily, he says, is the only person who ever loved him, but she wouldn’t try “it.” “This” is the only way. When Travis lifts the gun to his head, he says that his life ended when he said he shot that BB gun. Everyone loved Levi, and Levi told Travis he’d be grateful if Travis took the fall. Not even Lily told Daunis the truth, which is why Travis had to kill her. Travis pulls the trigger.
The “They” that Travis mentions in his dream presumably refers to the Little People, while “it” is the love medicine and “the only way,” killing Lily and himself. This is all stuff that Daunis already knew—what’s new is remembering that Travis admitted that Levi, not he, actually shot the BB gun that blinded a woman. This adds more credence to TJ’s earlier insistence that Levi is bad news and abuses his status as the town’s “golden boy.” If he truly convinced Travis to take the blame in his place, it suggests that Levi is generally unwilling to take responsibility for his mistakes—and is willing to harm others when it suits him.
Themes
When Daunis wakes in the morning, she notices the gift Levi left on her desk. Fingering Dad’s choker, Daunis thinks of everything that happened last night—and her dream about Travis and Lily. The gift is a framed photo of Levi, Dad, and Daunis. As she studies it, Daunis hears dream Travis saying that everyone loved Levi, and Levi said he’d be grateful if Travis took the fall. Is Levi not the person Daunis thinks he is? Daunis dresses and goes outside to pray, but she’s not sure what to pray for. Asking for something could have unintended consequences, so Daunis drops the semaa and confesses that she’s afraid. She runs to the place where she and Jamie had sex. What if what Travis and TJ said about Levi is true?
When it comes to Levi’s actions toward Daunis, Daunis feels like there’s nothing to be upset about. He seemingly can’t find Dad’s scarf, but he went out of his way to give her two other birthday gifts that are meaningful and connect her to Dad’s memory. However, she’s now had two people tell her that Levi isn’t actually that nice—and that he’s threatened others and ruined their lives. When Daunis prays and confesses that she’s afraid, it suggests that Daunis is continuing to mature—she’s now willing to admit that she doesn’t know what she doesn’t know.
Themes
Mom isn’t back yet when Daunis gets home. Daunis decides to check the emailed bank statement from Canada, and if it hasn’t arrived yet, she’ll take a bath. She wants real proof; she doesn’t want to let her suspicions poison her relationship with Levi like she did with Uncle David. But when Daunis opens the statement, she sees that Levi deposited $20,000 into the account and wired it to Panama. Levi is the mule.
The emailed bank statement is damning evidence that the account doesn’t just have extra money in it because Levi is now 18 and receiving adult per-cap payments. Though it seems impossible for Daunis to come to any other conclusion, it’s yet to be seen if she’ll trust her evidence that Levi is bad news—or whether she’ll protect him because he’s her beloved brother.
Themes
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Daunis stands in front of Dana Firekeeper’s house, which should be empty. She enters through the garage and soothes the dog, Waylon. Letting herself in, Daunis plays fetch with Waylon and discovers that both doors to Levi’s studio apartment are locked. Daunis ignores her painful shoulder, leaps to the garage roof, and pries the screen out of a window. Daunis studies the room. She can tell which parts of it are for Stormy and Mike, and she identifies what must be Travis’s old gaming chair. Daunis digs through Levi’s closet and finds his paper bank statements. Starting last October, he wired at least $10,000 per month to Panama. This coincides with when Levi became a Supe—and when Daunis turned 18. He’s been making transfers in her name. Daunis hears the garage door open.
Daunis is now breaking and entering, suggesting that she’s done playing by the rules and allowing Levi to control what information she gets. In Levi’s room, she seems to identify the other people involved in the meth cell: Stormy, Mike, and Travis. Then, Daunis also discovers that Levi has been willing to use her and put her in danger in order to manage the meth cell’s finances. Put simply, this tells Daunis that Levi isn’t actually being nice to her. He’s using her, just like he’s used everyone else in his life.
Themes
