The Spirit of Denendeh Books in Order

The Spirit of Denendeh is a linked graphic-novel series set in and around Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories. Denendeh means the Land of the People, and the setting is much more than a backdrop. Its history, families, spiritual life, and everyday pressures shape every decision the characters make.

The series opens with A Blanket of Butterflies. Shinobu arrives in Fort Smith looking for his family's samurai armor and sword, which have been held by the local museum. He learns that the sword has been lost in a poker game by the former museum manager, Benny the Bank. With help from a young boy named Sonny and Sonny's grandmother, Shinobu sets out to recover it.

That search brings him into Benny's dangerous orbit. But the book is not only about getting a stolen object back. It is also about family memory, the power of promises, and the unexpected ties between Indigenous and Japanese Canadian histories. The action has a supernatural edge, but its emotional center is the question of whether people can choose a better path after causing harm.

The second book, As I Enfold You in Petals, shifts attention to Curtis, who has returned to Fort Smith newly sober. He wants to stay away from alcohol and find a way to help his people, even as he faces loneliness, old relationships, and a home life that remains difficult. Curtis turns toward the teachings of his late grandfather Louis, a healer said to have made a connection with the Little People.

Benny remains important in this volume. He owns Louis's old cabin and is confronting the damage he has done during a life spent profiting from other people's pain. Curtis's hope for healing becomes tangled with Benny's chance to make amends. The result is a story about recovery, cultural knowledge, grief, and the choices people make when time is running short.

These books mix realistic community life with spiritual forces and fast-moving conflict. They can be dark, particularly when they address addiction, violence, and inherited trauma, but they are not hopeless. Van Camp keeps returning to care, humor, family, and the possibility that even badly wounded people can take responsibility for what comes next.

Start with A Blanket of Butterflies and continue to As I Enfold You in Petals. The books share characters and consequences, and the second volume gains weight from knowing Benny's earlier story. Together, they offer a vivid northern setting and a supernatural drama grounded in connection, accountability, and healing.