Scan barcode
A review by _morgueann
Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
adventurous
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Warrior Girl Unearthed explores the past and present harms on Indigenous people through the experiences of Perry Firekeeper-Birch. Instead of slacking off and fishing, Perry will have to work at the Tribal Museum as a part of a summer camp program for Ojibwe young adults. Perry's summer vacation quickly morphs into a high-stakes thriller with politics, heists, corruption and abduction.
Through Perry's work placement, she learns how many artifacts, ancestral remains and sacred items have yet to be returned to their tribes. She sees the bones of her ancestor - dubbed the Warrior Girl - at a college not to far away, but cannot bring them back for a proper burial. She learns that NAGPRA, a law intended to reunite tribes with these items, has loopholes that allow universities and the wealthy to hold tribal culture hostage. Perry decides that she'll take any means possible to soothe the generational pain caused by colonization, academia, and the anxiety and fear of becoming another Indigenous girl on a missing poster.
Readers won't be able to put down Warrior Girl Unearthed and like Boulley's debut novel (The Firekeeper's Daughter) readers will be forever changed. Woven throughout the thriller is information about NAGPRA, MMIWG2S (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirt People), and the Ojibwe culture. Ojibwe is used throughout the book, and I highly encourage readers to listen to the audiobook to hear the beauty of a language they had to fight so hard to keep alive.
Through Perry's work placement, she learns how many artifacts, ancestral remains and sacred items have yet to be returned to their tribes. She sees the bones of her ancestor - dubbed the Warrior Girl - at a college not to far away, but cannot bring them back for a proper burial. She learns that NAGPRA, a law intended to reunite tribes with these items, has loopholes that allow universities and the wealthy to hold tribal culture hostage. Perry decides that she'll take any means possible to soothe the generational pain caused by colonization, academia, and the anxiety and fear of becoming another Indigenous girl on a missing poster.
Readers won't be able to put down Warrior Girl Unearthed and like Boulley's debut novel (The Firekeeper's Daughter) readers will be forever changed. Woven throughout the thriller is information about NAGPRA, MMIWG2S (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirt People), and the Ojibwe culture. Ojibwe is used throughout the book, and I highly encourage readers to listen to the audiobook to hear the beauty of a language they had to fight so hard to keep alive.