Firekeeper - by Katlı & à (Paperback)

About the Book

A healing journey through fire and water.

Book Synopsis

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 Katlıà brings a Northern Indigenous perspective to the destructive effects of ongoing colonialism. Displaying Katlıà'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.

Review Quotes

"Katlıà is a gifted writer who has crafted a compelling coming-of-age story filled with surprise, courage, and love. A hardscrabble journey that follows a young Indigenous woman prevailing from the ashes, Firekeeper is gripping, touching, and profound."--Angela Sterritt, author of Unbroken: My Fight for Survival, Hope, and Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls

"Katlıà's Firekeeper is an enchanting page-turner of a novel that captured my heart from start to finish. It's an essential story about finding spirit, family, and home, told through one of the strongest and most authentic protagonists I've ever read. I felt like I was right there with Nyla through all her tragedies and triumphs, which is testament to Katlıà's smooth and heartfelt prose. This book is a celebration of the resilient spirit and leadership of Indigenous women."--Waubgeshig Rice, author of Moon of the Crusted Snow

"Written with searing truth and genuine heart, breathtaking at times in its description of life, living, dying and death - Firekeeper is a loving testament to the power of kindness and of gentleness. Piercing and honest, with an eye for detail in chaos, the writing and voice are humble and humbling. This is Katlı̨̀ą's best work to date."--Tracey Lindberg, writer, scholar, Indigenous Rights activist and the author of Birdie

About the Author

Katlıà is a northern Dene novelist specializing in intellectual property law with a focus on mitigating cultural appropriation and creating empowering Indigenous storytelling narratives. Katlįà'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. Katlįà 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. Katlįà 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.