Firekeeper: A Novel

by Katlià

Overview

Nyla has an affinity to fire. A neglected teen in a small northern town—trying to escape a mother battling her own terrors—she is kicked out and struggles through life on the streets. Desperate for love, Nyla accidentally sets fire to her ex’s building and is then incarcerated for arson. Through community—led diversion, Nyla finds herself on a reserve as their firekeeper. But when climate change–induced wildfires threaten her new home, she knows intimately how to fight back.

The fourth book from acclaimed writer Katłıà brings a Northern Indigenous perspective to the destructive effects of ongoing colonialism. Displaying Katłıà’s enthralling storytelling style, Firekeeper is a coming—of—age tale that addresses intergenerational trauma by reclaiming culture, belonging and identity.

Join Nyla on her healing journey through the fire to sacred waters.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781773636573
Publisher:	Fernwood Publishing
Publication date:	04/18/2024
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.25(d)

About the Author

Katłıà is a northern Dene novelist specializing in intellectual property law with a focus on mitigating cultural appropriation and creating empowering Indigenous storytelling narratives. Katłįà’s northern homeland and matrilineal lineage inform her storytelling. She is the author of novels This House Is Not a Home and Land—Water—Sky / Ndè—Tı—Yat’a and a memoir, Northern Wildflower, written as Catherine Lafferty. Katłįà is a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation from Somba K’e (Yellowknife), Northwest Territories. She currently splits her time between her northern homeland and the occupied and unceded lands of the Coast Salish peoples in lək̓ʷəŋən territory, where she graduated from the University of Victoria with the double law degree Juris Indigenarum Doctor and Juris Doctor. Katłįà is the co—chair of the National Indigenous Housing Network and the Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network and is working on a constitutional charter rights court challenge for Indigenous women, girls and two—spirit people for right to adequate housing.

Editorial Reviews

Of immeasurable value in helping young and old alike to find community and value in their lives

The Seaboard Review