Warrior Girl Unearthed Review by the Hobbit. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Read
Book: Warrior Girl Unearthed
Author: Angeline Boulley
Publication Date: May 2, 2023
Genres: Action/Adventure, Mystery
Major Themes: Indigenous history and beliefs,
Warnings: Mentions of rape. Kidnappings and murders (no graphic violence). Lots of peril and suspense.
Pages: 400
Reading Age: 15 and up
Brief Summary of Warrior Girl Unearthed
Perry Firekeeper-Birch is ready for a laid back summer. But a car wreck commits her to a tribal job instead. For the first time, she becomes aware of how much of her history (her Anishinaabe tribe history) has been stolen. At the same time, a rising number of indigenous women are disappearing. Perry has to decide if she needs to take matters into her own hands.
Warrior Girl Unearthed Review (contains spoilers)
Warrior Girl Unearthed is Boulley’s follow-up to her award-winning Firekeeper’s Daughter. As she explains at the end, Firekeepers’ Daughter was meant to be a mystery. Warrior Girl Unearthed is intended as action-adventure, somewhat along the lines of a reversed Indiana Jones. It has some of the same characters, although they play a secondary role in this novel. While the genre has changed, many of the concerns from the first book are continued here. A major new theme is also added: the issue of returning indigenous remains and artifacts that are currently held in museums and private collections.
Our primary character is Perry Firekeeper-Birch, the niece of Daunis Fontaine, the primary character from Firekeeper’s Daughter. Set 10 years after the first novel, we start when Perry wrecks her car, and her aunt Daunis pays to repair it – on the condition that Perry becomes a summer intern for the Tribal Council.
The Door of No Return Discussion Guide
Perry had planned to spend the summer relaxing, so she is not thrilled with this; however, it is a requirement to get her car repaired. She winds up as an intern to the museum curator, Cooper. Working with Cooper, she learns about NAGPRA, the federal law that allows indigenous tribes to request the return of remains and artifacts. She also learns about the ways that those requests are stymied by using loopholes in the law.
Perry recruits several friends to aid her in her quest to return these remains and artifacts. In particular, Perry wants to return the remains of “Warrior Girl”, the name given to the remains of an unidentified girl, to her tribe. This story is mixed in with continuing commentary on the issue of missing and exploited indigenous women. Chapters begin with real-life excerpts regarding NAGPRA and the problems faced by tribes in reclaiming remains and artifacts.
This book and its predecessor are excellent gateways to begin to understand Indigenous people and culture. It is eye-opening to begin to understand the issue with the return of remains and artifacts. As Perry says, “I stare at random tourists and wonder how they would react to their ancestors being stolen for research. I’m guessing they would see it as sacrilege. So why were my relatives fair game?” Regardless of your views on the sanctity of human remains, this is a question to consider.
Continue reading for more of our Warrior Girl Unearthed Review.
Favorite Warrior Girl Unearthed Quotes
Everything is connected, Little Sister. The past. The future. The beginning and ending. Answers are there even before the question. You’re supposed to go back to where you started. And if you step off the path, you better keep your eyes wide open.
Everything weighs on my heart. The loss of a young Black man. Native women going missing. People hunted down like prey. Researchers wanting our bones. No respect for Black and brown bodies when we’re breathing. No justice for the living or the dead.
Cooper wanted me to understand that the means justify the end. Doing the right thing for the right reason, with a good heart and clear intentions, matters.
-Quotes from Warrior Girl Unearthed
Life Lessons from The Last Mapmaker
Warrior Girl Unearthed Discussion Guide
- “You have significantly more deceased Native people in boxes on your campus than the number of live Native students that you allow to attend your institution.” —Shannon O’Loughlin, chief executive of the Association on American Indian Affairs, in a letter to Lawrence S. Bacow, president of Harvard University, February 18, 2021. From this, we can see that the issues raised in this novel are indeed still issues. Explain why this is an issue, and take into consideration Indigenous beliefs.
- “Every war, holy or not, is a battle for control over land and other resources. The winners were due the spoils of war, including gold and silver, people enslaved and trafficked, and the cultural and religious relics of those considered less than human.” How has this defined European and American history, in terms of how we think about Indigenous people and other people of color?
- He regards me. “Why not do the right thing for the right reason?” “Does it matter, if the outcome is the same?” I ask. “I think so, Perry-Padawan,” he says. “I think intention matters.” One of the bigger issues in American life, especially among Christians, is whether the ends justify the means. What does this novel, and this quote, tell us about doing the WRONG thing for the right reason?
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