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Semaa
Zhaaganaash is the Anishinaabemowin word to refer to white people.
Zhaaganaash Quotes in Firekeeper’s Daughter
The Firekeeper’s Daughter quotes below are all either spoken by Zhaaganaash or refer to Zhaaganaash. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
My Zhaaganaash and Anishinaabe grandmothers could not have been more different. […] Their push and pull on me has been a tug-of-war my entire life.
When I was seven, I spent a weekend at Gramma Pearl’s tar-paper house on Sugar Island. I woke up crying with an earache […]. She had me pee in a cup, and poured it into my ear as I rested my head in her lap. Back home for Sunday dinner at GrandMary and Grandpa Lorenzo’s, I excitedly shared how smart my grandmother was. Gramma Pearl fixed my earache with my pee! GrandMary recoiled and, a heartbeat later, glared at my mother as if this was her fault. Something split inside me when I saw my mother’s embarrassment. I learned there were times when I was expected to be a Fontaine and other times when it was safe to be a Firekeeper.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Firekeeper’s Daughter LitChart as a printable PDF.
Zhaaganaash Term Timeline in Firekeeper’s Daughter
The timeline below shows where the term Zhaaganaash appears in Firekeeper’s Daughter. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 26
...ignores Grant waving her over and sits next to Ron instead. Bus passengers are mostly Zhaaganaash; Nishnaabs are following in campers. Ron learns why when the sound system blasts “Don’t Stop...
(full context)
...in a fog until Grant slides in next to her at the game. Hearing a Zhaaganaash bring up per cap, Daunis considers leaving so she doesn’t have to listen to their...
(full context)
Chapter 30
...when Stormy’s dad walks in. He’s never liked her much, since he sees her as Zhaaganaash. He drinks a cup of coffee, smokes a cigarette, and then tells her about how...
(full context)
Chapter 41
...she holds Dad’s choker up. Stormy, a wolf dancer, dances next to Daunis, and nearby Zhaaganaash men whoop back at him—they don’t get the dance’s significance. As Levi dances toward Daunis,...
(full context)
Chapter 49
...involved. She’s angry, but relieved, when Levi says it’s him, Mike, and three other poor Zhaaganaash guys—it’s not just an “Indian thing.” Then, Daunis asks why Levi is involved when he...
(full context)
