Firekeeper's Daughter

Teddie presents Daunis with an envelope containing photos of her and her dad along with the application for tribal enrollment. Teddie has been trying to get in touch with Daunis because Daunis has a week to apply for tribal enrollment before she turns 19—which Daunis knew about because Ron told her. Teddie knows that Daunis has been avoiding her, but she doesn’t know why. When Daunis opens the paperwork, she considers how long she has wanted this, to be a member of the tribe her father was a member of, that it is something she has wanted ever since she “understood that being Anishinaabe and being an enrolled citizen weren’t necessarily the same thing” (236). Daunis considers how much Granny June fought for Lily to get her membership only to be unsuccessful. Daunis realizes that becoming an enrolled member does not change who she is, and when she tells Teddie that she “doesn’t need a card to define” her (237), Teddie asks her to consider it as a gift from her father. Granny June chimes in, encouraging Daunis to think about her grandchildren and how they will benefit from her being an enrolled member of the tribe. When Daunis agrees to apply for membership, Teddie tells her she needs three signatures from elders who are not closely related to her.