Firekeeper’s Daughter Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

Explore Angeline Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter with 20 questions that span the entire novel—from plot twists and character choices to Ojibwe symbolism and the story’s larger meaning. After you finish, check the answer key below for explanations rooted in the book’s outline.

Plot and Sequence Questions (8)

Why does Daunis Fontaine defer her University of Michigan admission?
A) Her uncle David dies in April.
B) Her grandmother Mary Fontaine has a stroke in June.
C) Her mother is diagnosed with a serious illness.
D) She injures her shoulder during a hockey game.
Where does Daunis discover Heather Nodin’s decomposing body?
(Short answer)
Who kills Daunis’s best friend, Lily?
A) Mike Edwards
B) Jamie Johnson
C) Travis Flint
D) Levi Firekeeper
What does Daunis find hidden in Uncle David’s desk at school?
A) A bag of methamphetamine
B) A coded spiral notebook
C) A love letter from Grant Edwards
D) A map of the Duck Island caves
What is the name of the drug Travis creates by adding a corrupted love medicine to meth?
(Short answer)
Where does Daunis plan to study ethnobotany at the end of the novel?
A) University of Hawaii
B) University of Michigan
C) Lake Superior State University
D) Arizona State University
How does Daunis escape the trailer where she and Jamie are held captive?
A) She picks the lock with a paper clip.
B) She tricks Mike into unlocking her shackle and then winks at Jamie to signal her plan.
C) She bribes Levi with money from the joint account.
D) She calls the FBI using Jamie’s hidden watch.
Who does Daunis realize is the true leader of the meth operation?
(Short answer)

Character Motivation Questions (5)

Why does Jamie Johnson initially get close to Daunis?
A) He was ordered by the FBI to recruit her as a confidential informant.
B) He genuinely falls in love with her at first sight.
C) He needs a place to live after moving to Sault Ste. Marie.
D) He wants to impress Levi and earn a spot on the hockey team.
Why does Daunis choose to stay home and attend Lake State instead of U of M?
(Short answer)
What motivates Auntie Teddie to perform a sweat lodge intervention for Daunis?
A) Daunis asks for a ceremony to help with her grief.
B) Auntie senses Daunis is lying and involved in dangerous activities.
C) It’s a routine part of a woman’s coming-of-age.
D) Auntie wants to introduce Daunis to the Little People.
Why does FBI agent Ron recruit Daunis as a confidential informant?
A) She has a chemistry background and can cook meth.
B) Her uncle David was a CI, and she can access the Native community.
C) She is a willing volunteer who came forward.
D) Jamie recommended her because he trusts her.
What does Levi reveal is his motivation for the joint bank account?
(Short answer)

Theme and Symbol Questions (4)

What does a blanket party represent in the novel?
A) A traditional Ojibwe form of vigilante justice against men who harm women.
B) A meth-distribution method using hockey pucks.
C) A team-building ritual for the hockey players.
D) A birthday celebration where everyone brings a blanket.
What does the role of Firekeeper symbolize for Daunis?
A) Her connection to Anishinaabe culture and her responsibility to tend ceremonial fires.
B) Her job as a group leader at the Niibing summer program.
C) Her father’s legacy as a hockey player.
D) Her ability to literally call lightning.
What statistic about violence against Native women does the author cite in her Author’s Note?
(Short answer – give one number or percentage.)
What does the pansy flower come to symbolize for Daunis?
A) Her friendship with Lily and her own journey toward healing from trauma.
B) The meth operation’s hidden messages.
C) Her mother’s favorite flower and a promise to return home.
D) The wealth and privilege of the Fontaine family.

Synthesis Questions (3)

How does Daunis’s identity as a non-enrolled tribal descendant affect her investigation and relationships throughout the story?
(Short answer)
Which of the Seven Grandfathers’ teachings does Daunis rely on most when she decides to withhold information about the mushroom from the FBI?
A) Wisdom (Nibwaakaawin)
B) Love (Zaagidiwin)
C) Honesty (Gwekowaadiziwin)
D) Courage (Zoongidewin)
What is the significance of the novel’s title Firekeeper’s Daughter to Daunis’s character arc?
(Short answer)

Answer Key with Explanations

B – Daunis defers her U of M admission after her grandmother Mary Fontaine suffers a stroke, because she feels she must stay home to support her mother and prevent a “third bad thing”. (Chapter 1)
Duck Island – Daunis searches Duck Island using a grid method taught by Uncle David and finds Heather’s body near a boulder. (Chapter 21)
C – Travis Flint shoots Lily after she ends their relationship. (Chapter 10)
B – Daunis retrieves a hidden spiral notebook from a false bottom in Uncle David’s snack drawer; the notebook contains coded entries about his investigation. (Chapter 34)
Meth-X – Travis creates Meth-X by adding a corrupted love medicine to methamphetamine, which Daunis realizes in Chapter 37.
A – Daunis tells her nieces she will study ethnobotany in Hawaii and apprentice with Elder Seeney Nimkee. (Chapter 57)
B – Daunis pretends to align with Mike, who unlocks her shackle; she winks at Jamie to signal her plan, then separates Levi from Mike. (Chapter 48)
Mike Edwards – In Chapter 46, Daunis realizes that Mike is the catalyst and true leader of the meth operation, not Levi.
A – Ron later reveals that Jamie suggested getting close to Daunis for the investigation, though Jamie’s feelings become genuine. (Chapter 40)
To support her mother after GrandMary’s stroke and to be present for her family, following a belief that bad things happen in threes. – Daunis stays to prevent a third tragedy and to help her grieving mother. (Chapter 1)
B – Auntie confronts Daunis about lying and reckless behavior; she performs the sweat lodge ceremony to help Daunis reconnect with her spirit and find honesty. (Chapters 32 & 36)
B – Ron explains that Uncle David was a CI and that they need someone from the community to take his place; Daunis fits because she can move among the people without suspicion. (Chapter 12)
To buy land in Canada (Searchmont) and to act as a meth mule, using Daunis’s identity to hide money laundering. – Levi admits the account was for land purchase and that he transported drugs. (Chapters 33 & 42)
A – A blanket party is an Ojibwe form of justice where female relatives beat a man who hurts a woman, rolled in a blanket. (Chapter 4)
A – The Firekeeper tends ceremonial fires; for Daunis, the role represents her cultural heritage and the responsibility to carry prayers and protect the community. (Chapters 11, 35, 57)
84% of Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime; 56% have experienced sexual violence; 97% of perpetrators are non-Native. (Author’s Note)
A – Pansies appear in Daunis’s vision (Lily becomes pansies) and later in a ceremony where Daunis offers a yellow pansy for her own trauma, symbolizing grief, friendship, and healing. (Chapters 52, 53, 57)
Daunis feels excluded from the tribe because of blood-quantum rules, which causes tension in her relationships and limits her ability to be a full member; however, her decision to enroll gives her access to the investigation and helps her claim her identity as a Firekeeper. (Chapters 2, 26, 57)
A – Daunis reflects on Nibwaakaawin (wisdom) earned through hard experience; she uses her knowledge to protect her community by hiding the mushroom dead end from the FBI. (Chapter 43)
Daunis initially dislikes the label “Firekeeper’s Daughter” because it reduces her to a single role, but by the end she embraces her Firekeeper heritage, introduces herself as Red Bear Woman at the powwow, and chooses to live out the teachings of her ancestors. (Chapters 20, 57)