Firekeeper’s Daughter

Three days after she almost dies, Daunis wakes up foggy and can tell instantly that something is wrong. Mom says that GrandMary died this morning, but Daunis says she died after a party. Mom continues that Daunis can’t go to the funeral because she’s at the University of Michigan ICU; Auntie is home making the arrangements for GrandMary. She suggests that GrandMary has been “in between” since Daunis graduated, and maybe she waited until Daunis was away to actually die. Daunis says that’s weird, not comforting.

Several days later, Daunis describes her race off the ferry and crashing Coach Bobby’s car in great detail. She continues that the crash tore her liver, and she eventually went into shock due to blood loss. Now, she says that after three days unconscious and three more in the ICU, she’s here answering Dr. Roulain’s questions. The doctor says that Daunis is clearly just fine mentally, but she’ll need to stay in the hospital for a week. Fortunately, the liver is the only internal organ that can regenerate, but Daunis will need to not play hockey for six months to a year for her safety. Daunis says she gave up hockey due to nerve damage.

Once Dr. Roulain is gone, Daunis prepares herself and then, remembering that Mom said Daunis doesn’t need to protect her feelings, begins telling Mom her secrets. She says that Uncle David was helping the FBI research hallucinogenic mushrooms that might’ve been added to meth. He’d gone to see Dana about Levi when he went missing. Mom says that David will be happy knowing that she, Daunis, and his students know the truth—his death was the result of foul play.

Auntie visits with medicine: sage, cedar, sweetgrass, and tobacco. Daunis knows now that Auntie has been a great friend to Mom for Daunis’s entire life. Auntie followed GrandMary’s wishes regarding her funeral plans. Daunis also knows now that she and GrandMary love each other—when loved ones die, the love stays alive.

Ron visits soon after Daunis moves to the regular hospital ward. Mom scolds him for putting Daunis in danger, and Auntie asks who his tribe is and if his family knows what he does. Ron says he’s an agent because they need “good people” in these agencies to help the tribes. Auntie just scoffs. He says nobody in local Tribal law enforcement was involved; involving Tribal officers hasn’t gone well in the past, as officers have alerted family members.

Then, Ron tells Daunis what he can: Levi has been charged with several crimes, and Daunis will have to go to court, too, since Levi used her name for the wire transfers. They found Heather’s flip-flop in Levi’s closet. Daunis says it wasn’t there when she searched his closet; she’s sure Mike put it there. She tells Ron to watch Levi’s face when they question him about the flip-flop; he’ll know he’s been set up, though he might not turn on Mike. Ron continues that Mike is missing. He’s probably in Canada, and his parents are devastated. Daunis asks about Stormy, and Ron says that Stormy has stayed silent since they took him into custody. If he never talks, which seems likely, Stormy will be held in contempt of court and stay in jail. Daunis realizes that Levi and Stormy are going to sit in jail while Mike goes free.

Ron apologizes. He says that Coach Bobby has been charged, too. Daunis realizes she missed the signs, like his fancy car and his cabin’s renovation. She still doesn’t know how he could be so kind to her for years and then betray her, though Levi’s betrayal continues to hurt the most. Ron continues that Dana has been charged by the feds, and the Tribe will likely prosecute her for various crimes. When Daunis asks about Dana drugging and kidnapping her, Ron says that the trailer was on land that the Tribe purchased and put in federal trust. Auntie gasps: she says this means that since Daunis was an enrolled citizen, the feds get to choose whether to press charges. Clearly, they’re only going to press charges for Jamie’s kidnapping.

Enraged, Daunis asks if Jamie shared that Grant raped her at Shagala. She says that Jamie is naïve—he expected the feds would help her more than they normally help Native women. She also says she suspects that Grant planned to rape her the moment he learned about her enrollment in the Tribe, since he knew he could get away with raping her on tribal land. Daunis is exhausted. She asks Ron to go and then leans against Auntie and Mom. After a minute, she tells Auntie that there will be a blanket party, and she’s coming. Looking old, Auntie agrees.