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• Warrior Girl Unearthed Henry Holt and Company (New York, NY), 2023

1. Warrior girl unearthed LCCN 2022920247 Type of material Book Personal name Boulley, Angeline, author. Main title Warrior girl unearthed / Angeline Boulley. Edition First edition. Published/Produced New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2023. ©2023 Description 396 pages ; 24 cm ISBN 9781250766588 (hardcover) 1250766583 (hardcover) (special edition) (special edition) (special edition) (special edition) CALL NUMBER PZ7.1.B6784 War 2023 Copy 1 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms

• Angeline Boulley website - https://angelineboulley.com/

  Dear Reader,
  There simply are too few stories told by and about Indigenous girls and women, especially from a contemporary viewpoint.

  We exist and have dynamic experiences to share beyond history books or stories set long ago.

  I have been shaped by a network of strong Anishinaabe Kwewag (Native American women), who may be called auntie, friend, cousin, or nokomis.

  My father is a traditional firekeeper, who strikes ceremonial fires at spiritual activities in the tribal community and ensures protocols are followed, while providing cultural teachings through stories told around the fire. He is one of my greatest teachers.

  I’m proud of my career in Indian education at the tribal, state, and national levels. Most recently, I was the Director for the Office of Indian Education (OIE) at the U.S. Department of Education. Previously, I was my tribe’s Education Director/Assistant Executive Director and served on the Board of Regents at Bay Mills Community College.

  I am beyond fortunate to be a full-time author now. Although I currently live in Southwest Michigan, my home will always be Bahweting (the place of the rapids) in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

  MIIGWETCH! (THANK YOU)

  - Angeline
  Angeline Boulley, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, is a storyteller who writes about her Ojibwe community in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. She is a former Director of the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education.

  Angeline lives in southwest Michigan, but her home will always be on Sugar Island. Firekeeper's Daughter is her debut novel, and was an instant #1 NYT Bestseller.

  Are you available for interviews & speaking engagements?
  Please contact Molly Ellis, Executive Director of Publicity at Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, for interviews.
  - molly.ellis@macmillan.com

  Please contact Christie Hinrichs, Director of Authors Unbound, for speaking engagements.
  - christie@authorsunbound.com

  I think I’m Native American. How do I learn more?
  Please call the Bureau of Indian Affairs at (202) 208-3710 or visit their website at www.indianaffairs.gov.

  The BIA has a helpful guide titled: "A Guide to Tracing American Indian & Alaska Native Ancestry"

  An excellent resource is the book, “Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask”, by Anton Treuer.

  Can you draft a land acknowledgement or answer cultural research questions?
  No. Native tribes, communities, and peoples are not a monolith. There are 574 federally recognized Indian tribes (American Indian and Alaska Native). This number does not include historic or state recognized tribes, nor does it include Native Hawaiians. Each tribe has their own history, government, traditions and customs.

  You need to do the work to find the appropriate people in your area.

• Authors Unbound - https://authorsunbound.com/angeline-boulley/

  “From the moment she arrived, Angeline Boulley brought her bright star magic to the theater and event!” – Sturges-Young Center for the Arts

  Angeline Boulley, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, is a storyteller who writes about her Ojibwe community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She is a former Director of the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education. Angeline lives in southwest Michigan, but her home will always be on Sugar Island. Firekeeper’s Daughter is her debut novel, and was an instant #1 NYT Bestseller. The book has been named the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature, the Printz Award, the William C. Morris award for YA debut literature, and was an American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book.

  In this riveting novel, a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, Daunis Fontaine, has never quite fit in—both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. When her family is struck by tragedy, Daunis puts her dreams on hold to care for her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother’s hockey team.

  Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug.

  Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source. But the search for truth is more complicated than Daunis imagined, exposing secrets and old scars. At the same time, she grows concerned with an investigation that seems more focused on punishing the offenders than protecting the victims.

  Now, as the deceptions—and deaths—keep growing, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go for her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.

  Angeline’s Authors Out Loud Profile: Angeline’s Authors Outside Profile:

• Wikipedia -

  Angeline Boulley

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  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Angeline Boulley

  Born 1966 (age 57–58)
  Nationality American
  Occupation Writer
  Notable work Firekeeper's Daughter
  Angeline Boulley is a Chippewa (Ojibwe) author and has worked to improve education for Indigenous children. Her debut work, Firekeeper's Daughter, was named one of the top 100 young adult novels of all time by Time magazine,[1] was a New York Times best seller,[2] and won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult Novel in 2022.[3] The novel will be adapted into a miniseries by Higher Ground.[4]

  Personal life
  Boulley is an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.[5] She was born and raised in "Bahweting (the place of the rapids) in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan."[6]

  She is a graduate of Central Michigan University.[7]

  Her "father is a traditional firekeeper, who strikes ceremonial fires at spiritual activities in the tribal community and ensures protocols are followed, while providing cultural teachings through stories told around the fire."[6]

  Career
  Boulley has worked in "Indian education at the tribal, state, and national levels."[6] At the tribal level, she served as the Educational Director and Assistant Director.[6] She also served on the Board of Regents at Bay Mills Community College before becoming the Director for the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education.[6]

  At present, Boulley works as a full-time author.[6]

  Firekeeper's Daughter
  Main article: Firekeeper's Daughter
  Boulley's debut novel, Firekeeper's Daughter, was published March 16, 2021 by Henry Holt and Co.[8] The book is a New York Times best seller.[2] Time magazine named it one of the best 100 young adult books of all time.[1] In 2022, it won the Michael L. Printz Award for young adult literature, the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult Novel, the William C. Morris Award, and the American Indian Youth Literature Award Best Young Adult Honor.[9] In the same year, it was named to the Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Best Books of the Year List with an "Outstanding Merit" distinction and shared the Committee's 2022 Josette Frank Award with Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson's Milo Imagines the World.[10][11] The German translation, which retains the English title and was published in 2022 by cbj, was nominated in March 2023 for the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in the category "YA novel".

  The novel is being adapted for television at Netflix by Higher Ground Productions, former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company.[8]

• Seen - https://www.seenthemagazine.com/culture/nyt-best-selling-author-angeline-boulley-on-her-new-book-warrior-girl-unearthed/article_0c35f900-f454-11ed-a4e9-0fe64b7b36ea.html

  NYT Best Selling Author Angeline Boulley on her new book "Warrior Girl Unearthed"
  National bestselling author and Michigan native Angeline Boulley discusses the importance — and power — of indigenous representation in literature, the Netflix adaptation of her first novel, the release of her second novel, and more
  By Danielle Alexander May 16, 2023 Updated Jun 8, 2023 0
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  Angeline Boulley and her four siblings spent their childhood Saturdays at the public library. They’d form a line behind their mother — just like a brood of ducklings, says Boulley — and head inside with the freedom to disperse and select any book they wanted. “We weren’t restricted to the children’s section,” says Boulley, who’d fill up her tote bag with “anything and everything,” ranging from English royalty to architecture to Nancy Drew mysteries.

  As she and her siblings grew older, their exposure to the written word expanded even more with audiobooks: “My dad, who worked as a truck driver, would exchange shoeboxes full of cassette tapes with other truck drivers and let us listen to them on road trips,” Boulley says, recalling how much faster the long car rides to visit family in Sault Ste. Marie would seem with those stories.

  Boulley, now 57 and residing in southwest Michigan, says she is who she is because her parents were passionate about reading and adamantly shared that with their children; however, she never once dreamed that she’d someday pursue book writing full time, let alone become the author of an instant New York Times bestseller.

  “I was always good at writing, but I guess I had just gotten the message that it wasn’t something to focus on as a career,” says Boulley, who, as an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, ended up pursuing a professional path in Indian education at the tribal, state, and national levels. She later became the director of the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education. “During my career, I did write a lot of grants though, which required me to weave in narratives about the community I was trying to get grant money for. That was honestly where I realized I was pretty good at storytelling.”

  In addition to discovering her knack for telling stories, Boulley says that she’d been holding onto a “kernel of an idea” for a book in her head since she was in high school: “When I was a senior, a friend who went to a different school thought I’d be interested in a new boy at her school, but come to find out, he was a young-looking, undercover law enforcement officer who was posing as a high school student in order to help with a huge drug bust,” says Boulley, who never did end up meeting him. “I couldn’t help but always think of the what-ifs after that. What if we had met? What if we liked each other? What if he needed my help?”

  Fire Keepers Daughter - HC.jpg
  Those questions are what ultimately yielded Boulley’s first book, Firekeeper’s Daughter, which was released in 2021. It’s a young-adult thriller that takes place in northern Michigan and follows the life of Daunis Fontaine, a biracial, un-enrolled tribal member who felt as though she never fit in at her hometown or on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. After witnessing a murder, she reluctantly agrees to help with an undercover criminal investigation in order to protect her community.

  “At its heart, it’s a coming-of-age story that really tapped into the native identity and things I experienced growing up,” says Boulley, who was constantly questioned about having lighter skin, not growing up on a reservation like her cousins, and, overall, not ever feeling “Native-enough.” “I saw my own kids go through this, as well as all of the teens of every tribal community I lived and worked in, and I wanted to write about claiming one’s identity as an indigenous person and the importance of taking the time to understand what that means in today’s world.”

  Although her book specifically discusses the Ojibwe tribe, Boulley says the plot is universal, adding that readers who are biracial or use code-switching, as well as those simply interested in learning more about Native Americans, have been really touched by the book’s themes and topics.

  As a result of its universal application, the book — only two weeks after it was released — even caught the eye of former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama, and their production company, Higher Ground, which was founded in 2018 to tell “powerful stories that entertain, inform, and inspire.” In fact, as of early 2023, Higher Ground’s team was actually working on a pilot script for the television adaptation of Firekeeper’s Daughter on Netflix. “It’s mind-blowing, really,” says Boulley, who had always envisioned a movie playing in her mind while writing it.

  Warrior Girl Unearthed.jpeg
  Boulley’s second book, Warrior Girl Unearthed, comes out May 2. Set yet again in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, this one tells the story of Perry Firekeeper-Birch and her determination to uncover a mystery before the ancestors and missing women of her Anishinaabe tribe are lost forever. “After having Daunis in my head since I was 18 and being an overthinker like her, I really wanted to challenge myself and get in the mind of a character who was different, which was a lot of fun to write,” says Boulley, who describes Perry as “brave, funny, and clever.” “I also like that this book touches on the ownership of native bodies, which is a real-life, present-day issue as so many of our ancestors are in museums and have yet to be returned to their tribes.”

  Boulley, who’s working on both her third and fourth books, says she’s so thankful that she gets to travel around the country and even the world to talk about indigenous cultures and the importance of having representation in literature, particularly for children and teens.

  “A lot of what people have seen and read have come from stereotypes and not knowledge from the communities themselves,” Boulley says. “Everyone should not only be able to see themselves in stories but see accurate portrayals of themselves, and that’s what I’m striving to do.”

• Audible - https://www.audible.com/blog/angeline-boulley-believes-in-the-power-of-young-adults-to-incite-change

  Angeline Boulley believes in the power of young adults to incite change
  In "Warrior Girl Unearthed," the follow-up to "Firekeeper’s Daughter," a Native teen fights to return sacred items and ancestral remains to her tribe.

  29-Minute Listen

  0:00
  29:11
  MELISSA BENDIXEN
  JUNE 29, 2023

  Note: Text has been edited and does not match audio exactly

  Melissa Bendixen: Hi, listeners. This is Melissa Bendixen, an editor here at Audible. Today, I'm speaking with Angeline Boulley, author of Firekeeper's Daughter and now Warrior Girl Unearthed, which is set about 10 years later and follows the story of Perry Firekeeper-Birch, a Native teen who fights to return her ancestor's remains to her Ojibwe tribe. Thanks for joining us, Angeline.

  Angeline Boulley: Thank you. It's a pleasure to be talking with you.

  MB: So, when did you know you would follow Perry and Pauline's story into the future for the sequel to Firekeeper's Daughter? And for those who might not know, Perry and Pauline are the six-year-old twins in Firekeeper's Daughter. They're Daunis's cousins.

  AB: It was after I got my agent, but before Firekeeper's Daughter went out on submission. And my agent had said, "Well, what else do you have?" In terms of a second book, I really did not have anything. And the idea of writing Daunis's next adventure didn't excite me the way I felt it should have. I just wanted to write a character that was very different from Daunis, because Daunis has been on my mind, in one shape or form, since I was 18 years old and first had that idea for the story—we're talking almost four decades. And I really wanted to challenge myself to write a character that was more funny, more “leap first” and think about consequences down the road. I had the idea for a story about this Indigenous Lara Croft, raiding museums instead of raiding tombs, to bring ancestors back to the tribes that are wanting their ancestors’ remains returned. And Perry was the perfect narrator because the topic of Native graves repatriation can be really intense, and I thought her joie de vivre, her lightness of spirit, would be a good counterbalance to the intensity of the story.

  MB: Yeah, for sure. She thinks she's a slacker, but really, she's such a rebel and you find that out. But you'd mentioned an Indigenous Lara Croft museum heist. I've seen you say this elsewhere, and that's so much fun to think about. You also educate with this novel as well as entertain, most especially around laws with repatriation of Native American remains and artifacts. I was curious about if you did any research to write this story. And what made you want to dive into this issue in particular for young adults?

  AB: Sure. I worked for my tribal community for about 12 years. And during that time, I not only supervised our education division, but I also worked with culture, recreation, and our elder care division. And with our cultural division, our tribe had been working to repatriate ancestors. I learned more about the issue by supervising the staff that did the repatriation work, so that was maybe the start of my research. And I knew a lot of people, particularly in Michigan, who work on repatriation. So, I had some great sources, and I did a lot of reading. The sources that I used made their way into the story as part of Cooper's resource list for Repatriation Padawans and Jedi. That was a clever way for me to be able to cite these sources for anyone that was interested in taking the next step in learning more about repatriation.

  MB: Yeah, yeah. Since you yourself worked with this, was Perry's experience with repatriation reminiscent of your own experience with repatriation and education?

  AB: Yes. So, as you know, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which was passed in 1990, is a federal law, and it does not pertain to international museums. Our tribe had worked for 10 years to repatriate an ancestor that was in a museum in Germany, and just seeing the hard work and dedication of the staff and what it took to build a relationship and be able to bring that ancestor home, without having a law to say, "This is the right thing to do" … I'm just so in awe of people who do this work day in, day out.

  "I think that through the power of a story, it can teach and reach so many more people than I felt I could do in my career."

  Another one of my sources talked about visiting a professor's office. And the part about when Perry finds a cereal box that's full of teeth and it's labeled “teeth”—that's based on an actual incident my friend Shannon Martin told me about. And the parts about bones being written on with Sharpie marker—these are things that happen. The first time you hear about it, you're just outraged. And I wanted Perry to capture that outrage and give it a voice and a megaphone. (laughs)

  My tribe's repatriation officer—her name is Marie Richards—was one of my sources, and I spoke a lot with her. When she read the finished book for the first time, she sent me an email and said that she had to walk away from it, at times, because this work is so difficult and it weighs heavy on your heart. And she said while she was taking one of these breaks from reading, she got an email from Michigan State University with a notice of transfer. That's the final step in the repatriation process, where the institution notifies the tribe that, yes, the request to repatriate is approved, finalized, and this is the date that you can come and pick up your ancestors and take them home. And getting that notice of transfer from Michigan State University while she was reading the book—that feeling is how she would answer if she were Cooper when Perry asks, "How do you do this work when it's so, you know, heavy on your heart?" Marie's response is, "Because of the feeling when you get that notice of transfer. That's why we do the work."

  MB: Wow, that’s really powerful. Listening to this book, there were so many times when it feels like you want to cry tears of frustration. That feeling of not being able to do anything—it’s so raw. It's so apparent in this story. You really feel it. I'm curious, now with your career, you've had so many different roles. You've worked in so many different areas, and you've worked a lot in education, educating others about Native life. What made you decide to turn to writing to tell others about Indigenous experiences through the eyes of teen and young adult characters in particular?

  AB: I guess I've always been a storyteller, even though I was not a creative writer. I did a lot of grant writing, and I realized that grant writing is storytelling in a specific format. I just always had that idea for the story about Daunis—I pitched Firekeeper's Daughter as an Indigenous Nancy Drew meets 21 Jump Street. So, I just had this great idea for a story and always told myself that someday, I would write it. You know, many people have a story that they're like, "Ooh, I should write that story." I actually decided at 44 that, yes, I was going to write a story. And I had no idea it would take me as long as it did to finish it and get published. I think that through the power of a story, it can teach and reach so many more people than I felt I could do in my career. And I've always been a voracious reader. My parents are both incredible readers, and so to me, books have always been places where ideas launch.

  MB: Yeah, yeah. Do you think you're gonna keep going? You've got book one, book two. You think you've got the hang of it now? (laughs)

  AB: Yeah, I have a great idea for book three. And so, like the others, it'll involve Sugar Island and some familiar faces and some new faces. So yeah, I have great ideas now for more stories. Now I feel like I actually have a bit more skills in telling a story and that it's not as painful as it was [over] the 10-year journey to write Firekeeper's Daughter.

  MB: Yeah. I've heard it said that the more that you write, the more ideas you have. Have you been finding that true as you've been on your writing journey?

  AB: Yes. Yes, I would say I have found that to be true.

  MB: That's good. I’m glad you have more and more ideas, because we'll want them from you. (laughs)

  So, I want to turn us to narration. You have Isabella Star LaBlanc, who narrated Firekeeper's Daughter, returning to Warrior Girl Unearthed. I know you and Isabella have a good working relationship, and I heard that she actually ended up recording the story remotely while she was shooting a show in Iceland. Can you tell us the story there?

  AB: I wanted Isabella to narrate. She did such a phenomenal job with Firekeeper's Daughter. It was her first time ever narrating an audiobook, and she has since done several more. And so, the opportunity to have her voice my second book—I definitely wanted it. The only available week that she had to record Warrior Girl Unearthed, she was in Iceland, filming the newest season of True Detective. My understanding is that Macmillan shipped the recording equipment to her in Iceland, and she was able to narrate the book in the available time she had. She does such a phenomenal job. I cannot say enough good things—great things—about Isabella Star LaBlanc.

  MB: Yeah, well, I want to hear it! Can you talk about what it's like hearing your words of this story through Isabella's narration? In particular, one thing that shines so much is that you get to hear the sound of the Ojibwe language coming alive.

  AB: Sure. The beauty of having an Indigenous narrator is that they're familiar with certain cadences. Elders in my community sound a certain way, and Isabella was able to be familiar enough with elders in her community that there were some similarities. She worked with Ojibwe speakers about the pronunciations, and she just took to it so incredibly well. And hearing her speak, you would not know that she's not a fluent speaker of Ojibwemowin, our Ojibwe language. She just has such an ear for dialect and cadences and the flow of the language. It’s a very beautiful spoken language. There's a rhythm to it, and she just tapped into that.

  "The truth is that teens care very much about the things that they care about, and once they engage in something that captures their interest, they feel like an unstoppable force."

  MB: Mm-hmm. It’s such a joy listening to it, being able to get the feel of it. One thing I think that you can really feel in the narration with your writing is that you're so good at drawing characters that feel real and alive. It's hard to believe that it was your debut novel with Firekeeper's Daughter. I remember missing Daunis so much after finishing the novel, and I just wanted to go back and hang out with her. And I feel the same way about Perry and Pauline now that I finished Warrior Girl Unearthed. How do you get inside the minds of your characters and find ways to make us fall in love with them so deeply?

  AB: I find that when I'm thinking about my characters, I make playlists. I feel like if I can tap into what music a character listens to, it feels like it gives me insight into that character. I know them when I know their music. And when I'm writing certain scenes, I will listen to different types of music. And then when I'm in the editing process, I listen to the soundtrack for my favorite movie. It's kind of like my own version of the Pomodoro method, where you'll do a writing sprint for 20 minutes and then take a bathroom break and then come back for another 20 minutes. And for me, I'm just getting into my routine after 20 minutes. So, I need a longer window of this sprint, or activity. And so, I listen to the soundtrack for Interstellar. There's something about it that puts me in this … it's like an altered state. It's peaceful, and I can zone in on editing the words. It's more than white noise. It becomes this thread that … I don't have the words to describe it. Music to me is a huge way of creating characters, creating scenes, and then tapping into different parts of my brain, different skill sets. It makes sense to me that it would require different types of music or sounds, depending on the skills that I need to write and to revise and do final edits.

  MB: That's so interesting that it's very aural-based for you, very audio-based.

  AB: Yeah. I'd like to say something profound about that and connect it to oral storytelling traditions of the Anishinaabe people. But really, I think a lot of it comes down to that my dad was a truck driver, and we listened to audiobooks—storybooks on cassette tape—growing up. And we were always in the car for long trips to return to the reservation and visit grandparents and cousins, and so we would be listening to these audiobooks. That's one of my favorite ways to receive story—hearing it. Your mind forms these pictures, and it's such a wonderful way for story to be received.

  MB: Yeah. It is the original way, right?

  AB: Yeah.

  MB: It is the ancient way, so it makes sense.

  AB: Yeah. I've always had audiobooks going in my car whenever I would drive my kids, even to the grocery store. We were listening to wherever this story left off last. And my daughter has, I think, the equivalent of a photographic memory but for audiobooks. She would be seven years old and say, "Um, we already listened to this one." And I would say, "Oh well, aren't books like old friends that we get to visit again and again?" And she would say, "Nope. I know who killed so-and-so. And it's this person." She was like, "Nope, I already listened to it. I already received the story." She needed new stories rather than revisiting old friends.

  MB: That's so funny. Is she like that now?

  AB: Yeah, she's still like that. She won't listen to an audiobook more than once, which is odd because I just listened to Yellowface by Rebecca Kuang. And as soon as I get done with an audiobook, if I loved it I will listen to it again and pick up on the things that I missed in the beginning of the story. I just listened to The Inheritance Games, and then my next audiobook is Promise Boys by Nick Brooks because I heard that he has a full-cast audio production. I really want to hear how that brings the story to life even more.

  For me, the game-changer was Sadie by Courtney Summers. I think that it's more powerful a story in the audio format than the written format. There’s this story of Sadie searching for her sister's killer and then, all of a sudden, there's this podcast episode that you hear and the podcast narrator is talking about the girls, the missing girls. And then, you realize, "Oh, he's talking about Sadie and her sister." I feel like it elevated what was possible in young adult storytelling, and it changed the way I think about how I can tell stories. Sadie is a game-changer in terms of audio.

  MB: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Do you listen to your own audiobooks?

  AB: Yes. That's actually the only way I can enjoy my story after it's published. If I were to read my books, I see everything that I wish I could have just one more round of edits. But hearing Isabella as these characters and the way that she gives voice to each character that has dialogue, I feel like it's the only way I can get lost in my story and enjoy it as a listener and not as the author.

  MB: Yeah, yeah. I've heard that before. It must be pretty special to be able to do that.

  AB: Yeah, yeah. I remember the first time listening to Warrior Girl Unearthed and just thinking, "Isabella got even better." She was phenomenal in Firekeeper's Daughter, and I assumed she would be that same level of wonderful. And to find out that her skills actually are even more on point, it's like realizing that the skill of narrating audiobooks that she has surpassed, that she's growing as a narrator. And to hear that, it felt so smooth. The language flowed more easily—the dialogue felt back-and-forth more [naturally], almost to the point where the audio tags weren't needed. You know?

  MB: Yeah, definitely. I think she definitely did an amazing job on this one.

  I want to focus us on the main character, Perry, a little bit. I'm really curious to dig into her. She loves fishing, but she’s really not excited about her summer internship. So, she thinks she's going to hate it, but it turns out that she's actually very into it, especially when she's faced with these frustrating injustices. It really brings out the rebel in her. She tries to fight, but she doesn't always anticipate the consequences. You see her make mistakes and grow from those mistakes, especially when it comes to doing what's right when it feels like nobody else is playing fair. Why was it so important to you that this would be Perry's journey, do you think?

  AB: Because in all of my years working with teens, I see how we write off or underestimate young adults and think, "Oh, they don't care about anything," or the whole, "Oh, they're such slackers." The truth is that teens care very much about the things that they care about, and once they engage in something that captures their interest, they feel like an unstoppable force. And I love to see that awakening, that passionate engagement with something that they believe in or feel that they can make a change. I love that. And Perry was a great example of that, you know? She cares very much for her community, her parents, her sister, her friends. She sees her sister, who's actually a high-functioning high-anxiety person, and thinks, "Okay, if that's what caring is, if that's what being attentive in school is, if that's the result, then I'll opt out. I'd rather go fishing." So, for her to discover she does care about things and about this repatriation issue, she cares very much … it’s [a lot].

  "No one should feel like they need to set themselves on fire to keep a cause warm...all these sacrifices of the generations that came before, what they wanted for us was to live full lives and not, in turn, sacrifice ourselves."

  I want young people to know that we need their passion and energy and exuberance. However, no one should feel like they need to set themselves on fire to keep a cause warm. We don't want the sacrifice of everything you have to give us so that you have nothing left for yourself. I wanted Perry to embody that she cares so much and she makes mistakes and she does these grand gestures, and then for her to realize that all these sacrifices of the generations that came before, what they wanted for us was to live full lives and not, in turn, sacrifice ourselves.

  And then, the other thing is for Perry to recognize that her sister has high anxiety. She has trichotillomania, which I do too, so that's why I included that in the story. And it's these self-soothing actions that provide a little stress relief. And for Perry to realize that she does care, but that the way that her sister cares is beyond—there's something more going on there.

  MB: Yeah. Yeah, it’s definitely a growing-up experience to see all the things around you in a new light.

  AB: Yeah. If you always measure yourself against a high achiever, you're always going to feel like you didn't do enough. But then if you realize that high achiever—they're never going to be satisfied. And so you have to realize that your measure has to be individual to you and not against another person. Because if you're chasing that, you will always be in second.

  MB: Yeah. It's interesting, also, that they're twins, which makes their contrast even more stark. Was that a conscious decision on your part? And were you taking from some twins that you know in your life?

  AB: Yes, it was intentional. I had a younger sister who passed when we were adults. We were 15 months apart. And I remember, my mom would dress us alike when we were little and people would ask, "Oh, are they twins?" or this or that. But I was always bigger than her. This is awful—but I remember people saying, "Oh, she's the thin one," or "Oh, she's the really beautiful one," or "She's the one that has those incredible cheekbones," or "She's the one with the model-type features." And just hearing little comments here and there, I thought, "Then, what does that make me?" And so, yeah, there was some personal experience going into writing those issues that changed the way Perry saw herself as a child.

  MB: Yeah. As someone who has a sister that is very close, it feels very similar. Well, my final question to you then, Angeline, is if listeners were to take away one thing from Warrior Girl Unearthed, what would you hope it would be?

  AB: I want people to reach out to the museums and institutions that have our ancestors and tell them that they want them returned to tribes. The most effective voices that universities listen to are alumni. And so, for people who have a connection with a university to reach out and make a call and talk to the university—their board of regents, their governing board—and let them know that they support the return of ancestral remains and sacred items back to the tribes that have been requesting them. My dedication of Warrior Girl Unearthed is to the 108,000 ancestors that are still remaining in universities and institution collections. I just heard from the NAGPRA person at the federal level, and she said that number is now at 101,000. There is progress that's being made. And so, readers, making a call to a university can help us to get this number down to zero.

  MB: Wow, that's nice to hear that progress can be made with fiction.

  AB: Yeah, the power of a story. We can talk about regulations. We can do a PowerPoint about things. But the power of a story to change the way people think about something and prompt them to take action—that’s why I write.

  MB: Yeah. The power of a story. Well, Angeline, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me today.

  AB: Miigwech. Thank you so much.

  MB: And listeners, you can get Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley, as well as her first novel, Firekeeper's Daughter, on Audible now.

• Publishers Weekly - https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/91416-going-home-again-close-up-on-angeline-boulley.html

  Going Home Again: Close-Up on Angeline Boulley
  Feb 13, 2023
  Comments Click Here

  With her new YA thriller, Warrior Girl Unearthed, award winning and bestselling author Angeline Boulley takes readers back to the world of Firekeeper's Daughter, her acclaimed debut YA novel.

  PW sat down with Boulley to chat about Warrior Girl Unearthed, returning to the world of Sugar Island, the Netflix adaptation of Firekeeper's Daughter, and a whole lot more.

  Firekeeper’s Daughter offers a rich focus on Ojibwe culture paired with a tense thriller storyline. What can readers expect from Warrior Girl Unearthed?

  Readers can expect a layered mystery, exciting heists, more Sugar Island, and a feisty protagonist!

  How much do you draw from your own background within the Ojibwe community as you write?

  I draw a lot from my experiences. I spent time most summers with my grandparents and cousins on Sugar Island. As an adult, I've lived and worked in three different Native American communities. I'm grateful to have such rich experiences to shape the stories I want to share.

  I imagine it must be very difficult to write about missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. What can you share about that experience?

  It is difficult, yet it's vital to give voice to those who cannot tell their stories themselves. Through storytelling I can share the person instead of the statistic. Each missing person is someone who matters.

  What can you share about protagonist Perry?

  Perry Firekeeper-Birch—a chill, laid-back teen whose summer plans change when she wrecks the Jeep she shares with her twin sister and must accept the last spot in her Tribe's paid internship program. As she begins her summer job in the tribal museum, Perry learns that a local college museum is refusing to return ancestral remains and sacred items that had been stolen from Sugar Island. Outraged, Perry is determined to get the ancestors back. She is someone who acts first and thinks about the consequences down the road.

  Will readers recognize any characters they first encountered in Firekeeper’s Daughter?

  Yes! There are familiar faces. Granny June fans will be pleased.

  Cover art can be a reader’s first impression of a book. Can you talk about what Caldecott Medalist Michaela Goade’s cover art illustration brings to the story?

  Michaela Goade uses vivid colors and layered images to convey the story. I find more to love each time I gaze at the beautiful cover! My favorite detail is the way Michaela used Perry's hair tumbling over her shoulder to become a river with fish. To Perry, fishing is life.

  Between Daunis from Firekeeper’s Daughter and Perry from Warrior Girl Unearthed, which character do you feel the strongest connection to personally?

  I am much more like Daunis—we overthink everything. Perry was refreshing to write because she says exactly what's on her mind. She is brave, funny, and clever.

  Can you tell us anything about the Netflix adaptation of Firekeeper’s Daughter?

  The showrunner and head writer are working on the script for the pilot. Then they'll assemble a writers room to work on the rest of the scripts for the first season. I cannot wait to hear about casting choices and filming locations. I'm ready to watch it now, but these things take a lot longer than I thought.

• Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2023/05/25/transcript-race-america-giving-voice-with-angeline-boulley-author-warrior-girl-unearthed/

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  Transcript: Race in America: Giving Voice with Angeline Boulley, Author, “Warrior Girl Unearthed”
  By Washington Post Live
  May 25, 2023 at 4:11 p.m. EDT

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  MS. STEAD SELLERS: Hello, and welcome to Washington Post Live. I’m Frances Stead Sellers, a senior writer here at The Washington Post.

  Today as part of our "Race in America" series, I'm delighted to be joined by bestselling author Angeline Boulley. She's got a new book out titled "Warrior Girl Unearthed."

  Angeline, a very warm welcome to Washington Post Live.

  MS. BOULLEY: Oh, miigwech. I'm very thankful to be here.

  [Laughter]

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: We're pleased to have you. So let's start with this new book. It's set 10 years after your bestseller, "Firekeeper's Daughter," and you said, I think, that the main character was based on Lara Croft from "Tomb Raider." Tell me about her. Tell me about that main character and how she came to be.

  MS. BOULLEY: Sure. Sixteen-year-old Perry Firekeeper-Birch, who readers met her when she was a six-year-old twin and a niece of Daunis, the main character in "Firekeeper's Daughter," and the story really came to me. Perry popped into my head. I was living in Washington, D.C., at the time, out for a walk, wondering if I had another story in me for my second book, and she just popped into my head and said, "I stole everything." They think she did and even stuff they don't know about yet, and I thought, who is this person, and what's going on?

  And so, sure enough, she--I ran into the nearest business and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, and I just started writing. And yeah, she was sitting in a police station waiting for her parents to pick her up, and she's covered in blood, and she's wondering, how did it come to this? And I knew she was like a reverse "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," instead of raiding tombs, that she would be raiding museums to retrieve stolen ancestors and sacred items and bring them back home. And being 16 years old, none of her heists go the way that she intends.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: [Laughs] So she really took life on this Washington street, and that brings me to some of the big issues you deal with here. I mean, it's a work of fiction, but you bring up Native repatriation and the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Tell me about the importance of those very key issues to a work of fiction.

  MS. BOULLEY: Well, they're linked. I mean, the ownership of Indigenous bodies, past and present, and I really looked to connect them through this story. You know, Indigenous women face the highest rates of violence, including sexual violence, and then, two, the--there are so many of our ancestors that are in museum collections and just the--even though there's that federal law that says you need to return these, so many--too many museums and institutions just drag their feet. Ad it's all about control over Indigenous bodies, Indigenous knowledge, and yeah, I consider it connected through the trafficking of Indigenous women, which--let's be honest--it's happened since 1492.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: Right. So this book allows you really to reconnect with your roots, your heritage in the Ojibwe community. Did you learn anything that surprised you as you did research for the book?

  MS. BOULLEY: I was surprised to find out that 33 years after the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which became law in 1990, the Congressional Budget Office had predicted that it would take 10 years to repatriate all of the ancestral remains back to tribes that were requesting them, and as of September 2022, there were still more than half that were remaining in institutions than had been repatriated. There's like 108,000 sets of remains, and they need to be returned back.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: So, Angeline, did the foot that you have or had in Washington, D.C., help you with that research for a work of fiction?

  MS. BOULLEY: It did. I mean, being--you know, when I lived in Washington, D.C., having access to people, subject-matter experts, and being able to discuss, you know, different topics and this source leads to this source, that was really convenient. But a lot of the research for my second book was done after I had left Washington, D.C., and really reconnected a lot with people in Michigan who are doing repatriation work.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: Well, let's go back to your early work. You did day jobs in the tribe when you were growing up. What was that like, and what kind of jobs were you doing?

  MS. BOULLEY: Well, I was raised downstate Michigan, and so my dad's--you know, our tribe is in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. So we would spend time every summer, you know, spending time with grandparents and cousins, but it wasn't until I was an adult married with three children, working for my tribe, that I lived and worked in Sault Ste. Marie. So, you know, that was just a really great place to be, and I loved getting close with my cousins and spending time with elders, and it really informed the stories that I write.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: You've said that the power of fiction has allowed you to reach more people than ever before, and you've had these key jobs in education and other things. Tell me about that power of fiction, how you've harnessed it, and whether it also surprised you in its ability to reach people.

  MS. BOULLEY: I wasn't surprised, because story is how we learn what it means to be anishinaabe, how we learn to be human, and, you know, I was--I feel like I could give a lecture about repatriations, but who is it really going to reach? But a story and characters that you care about, you know, them experiencing the frustration of trying to repatriate with universities and museums and institutions that are just determined to hold onto ancestral remains, and more importantly to them, the sacred items, the funerary items that they were buried with, that's what they truly want to hold onto. And as long as they can classify remains as culturally unaffiliated, they get to hold onto those items.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: So, Angeline, I'm so intrigued by this personal experience and your ability to tell stories and also your experience in education, and what do you think teachers and educators need to learn to do in order to understand better Indigenous people but, more broadly, a diversity of people and the complex cultures we are part of?

  MS. BOULLEY: I feel like if the only time a teacher brings up Native Americans is during the month of November, that's not--

  [Laughter]

  MS. BOULLEY: But I understand teachers being leery and unsure of how to bring up or in include Native peoples in curriculum beyond Thanksgiving, and thankfully, there are some really great resources out there.

  Debbie Reese's blog, it's called "American Indians in Children's Literature," and she does like a best-of list every year for picture books, chapter books, middle--or middle grade, young adult, graphic novel, and adult, and she really breaks down how she analyzes books to determine if this is appropriate representation or if it perpetuates stereotypes, and so that's a free resource available to teachers.

  I also commend states like Montana. Michigan has really come a long way too in doing like Indian education for all, where it's not just improving public schools for Native American children, but it's educating every student about Native Americans and emphasizing the connection with local tribes and local communities.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: We also have some very prominent figures in government now, including Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior. Do they make a difference as role models in how people perceive Native communities?

  MS. BOULLEY: Absolutely. You know, Secretary Haaland is one of my role models, and I remember when she was first elected as a representative from New Mexico, and her and Sharice Davids, that they--Deb Haaland had saved her seat in Congress with a blanket, and it was like how Native, how Native is that, and she, you know, had replied back on social media like, "Yep, absolutely, I did that," saving her seat by putting a blanket over the seat.

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  You know, and she's just taken such a leadership role in so many issues with the Department of Interior that impact Native peoples, Native rights, Native communities, and these are items that have long been given lip service. And I feel like she's the first secretary that has actually committed to do more than ever before.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: Your first book, "Firekeeper's Daughter," has been made into a Netflix series through the Obama's production company, and I think it's been held up in the writers' strike, but can you tell us a little bit about that series and the process of changing your work of fiction into a Netflix series?

  MS. BOULLEY: Sure. A few weeks after my book deal, Hollywood came calling, and I was able to talk with several different development companies that were interested in adapting "Firekeeper's Daughter" for the big screen or for series, and really, Higher Ground Productions, which was started by President Barack and Michelle Obama, you know, I just loved how we both viewed representation as such a core value, and that my wish was to see Native creative talent, not just in front of the camera but behind it in the writers' room and at every level of production. And they were completely on board with that.

  And so what I know of right now is that there is a head writer and a showrunner who produced a--or who wrote a script that Netflix and Higher Ground loves, but in support of the writers' strike, all of that has come to a halt. And I stand with the Writers Guild of America to support writers.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: And have you--you mentioned that you wanted to have--screen everybody from as many people as possible in the production who were from Native communities. Has that also happened, or is that happening?

  MS. BOULLEY: I believe so. I am making my suggestions of people that--you know, that I know of and that do excellent work and forwarding those names, but Higher Ground is very savvy, and they're already tuned into networks of Native screenwriters and directors and people throughout production.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: So let's talk a minute about the Cannes Film Festival where a Martin Scorsese film that focuses on Indigenous populations got, I think, a nine-minute standing ovation. What does it mean to you to see that kind of recognition of art in all sorts of different kinds that really grows out of and belongs to Native communities?

  MS. BOULLEY: It means the world, and, you know, it's based on an incredible book, "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann, I believe, and that book focuses on the birth of the FBI. And I'm very glad that Osage leadership said the focus is on Osage community members and what happened, and it resulted in, I believe, a rewrite and a refocusing. Leonardo DiCaprio learned to speak the Native language, and I think that's what happens when you make a commitment to tell stories from a group that had not had their story told from their perspective. And I think it results in art that transcends a movie.

  It actually, I believe, says something about story sovereignty and the right we have to tell our own stories. And I cannot wait to see the movie, and I certainly--you know, Lily Gladstone, if she could play--if she could be cast as Aunt Teddie in "Firekeeper's Daughter," I would be the happiest anishinaabekwe in the world.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: [Laughs] But tell us also how important it is to history to have these works of popular movies and works of fiction out there.

  MS. BOULLEY: Because the past and the present are connected. If we lose sight of what happened in the past and the struggles that our ancestors made for us, then not only are we likely to repeat, but they gave up so much for us, and to not live our fullest, best lives honoring their sacrifice, I think is an injustice that the present does to the past.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: Angeline, we've had several reader questions and--that I'd like to bring in now. The first one touches on one of those huge cultural issues. It comes from Deb Clark in Texas, and as I said, I think we could probably talk for an hour around this topic, but let's see what Deb says and see what you have to say. Deb says, are you okay with non-Native communicators and educators doing research about issues that face Indigenous communities?

  MS. BOULLEY: Absolutely, yes. I highly encourage non-Native educators to do research. My best guidance for them is to carefully consider their sources and to make sure that the sources that they are reading and referencing are Indigenous, that they're writing and speaking to lived experience, and that the author of whether it's fiction or non-fiction, that they are claimed by a community and not just claiming Native identity.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: So tell me a little bit more about how somebody coming in can make that distinction being claimed by a community and not just claiming Native identity.

  MS. BOULLEY: I think that what's important is to look--research the sources and to, you know, read their biography and find out where they come from, where they were educated, you know, if they reference cultural teachers, and the way of speaking about community, I think there's kind of a shorthand language about knowing someone, that someone truly has that connection.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: So we have another question I want to ask, and this one comes from Barbara White in Minnesota, and Barbara asks a very different kind of question: I love a good mystery, including "Firekeeper's Daughter." Who are some of your favorite mystery authors? What a great question.

  MS. BOULLEY: Yes. So I love everything that Marcie Rendon writes. She is an Ojibwe author from White Earth, and I believe she's the most underrated Indigenous author out there, and she has this Cash Blackbear mystery series that I absolutely adore.

  And I also love, of course, you know, Louise Erdrich. I love Lucy Foley, Tess Sharpe in young adult.

  You know, I tend to go more towards psychological thrillers, and so yeah, just--Tommy Orange, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Stephen Graham Jones. I mean, he veered to mystery, horror, and I actually met him. We were on a panel together in Paris at an international literary festival, and I fangirled so hard. I was tongue-tied, and I finally sputtered out, "I really like your books." And I just felt like the most incompetent human at that point.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: But actually, right at the beginning you mentioned to me the importance of characters in telling these stories, and so what do you--do you dive into these books before you write your own book, or are you starting from a kind of blank slate? You talked about your character talking to you as you walk down a Washington street, but where does it begin? Through other mysteries or through your own imagination?

  MS. BOULLEY: Through my imagination and, you know, people I've met, people--you know, familiar faces in my community, just, you know, drawing inspiration all around me but then making the character mine, and, you know, I even think about like what music they listen to, and, you know, I feel like if I know what songs they listen to, I feel like I have insight into them. It's all just part of this creative process to create layered, nuanced characters that represent a full range of, you know, humans that we encounter on our reservations and in our tribal communities every day.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: Angeline, I have read that you wanted to write a book or that had the idea about writing a book when you were a teenager, and you didn't write until you were 44. What advice would you give your former self or to other young people who have that idea about writing a book? What advice would you give your former self?

  MS. BOULLEY: Hold onto that spark of, you know, that creative idea that just won't let you go, hold onto it, listen to it, nurture it, and see what happens. I am the poster child for tenacity and for wonderful things happening after age 40.

  But yes, I had the idea at 18, and I think if I had tried to write "Firekeeper's Daughter" at 18, it would've been a very smooshy romance novel--

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: [Laughs]

  MS. BOULLEY: --and that's not what the story warranted.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: No, but--

  MS. BOULLEY: Yeah.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: So I'm thinking more broadly where at this moment of incredible polarization in this country and you are writing a book that, in a sense, introduces people to a culture they may not be familiar with. It's a bridge-building book. How much do you see fiction narrative as a means of overcoming these great divides?

  MS. BOULLEY: Story is how we tap into our humanity. You know, James Joyce is quoted with in the particular, we find the universal. And when we censor or hold back those particular voices, we--you know, we lose that opportunity to see the universality in all people, and, you know, I'm really thankful that I wrote a story that was so specific about my community and this one Ojibwe girl. But the people outside of my community who--you know, the story resonated with, and so I just think there are people out there whose stories have not been told and now is not the time to squelch those. Now is the time we need to amplify diverse stories from underrepresented voices.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: Angeline, I'd like to finish with a question that's very dear to my own heart. A magazine story I edited early on in my career was about the death of Native languages, the loss of Native language. How does that affect storytelling?

  MS. BOULLEY: Well, our native languages, it's more than just words. It's a world view. It's, you know, how we view the world, and so I think that efforts to revitalize native languages--you know, I certainly think there should be more funding towards that and more encouragement of that. And there are more resources now than ever before. For example, free resources, my tribe in particular does a free online class for beginners. You know, Bay Mills Community College in Brimley, Michigan, they have an immersion institute to learn Anishinaabemowin, and I believe Dr. Anton Treuer was instrumental in Rosetta Stone coming out with a version of, you know, Anishinaabe Ojibwe Mowin.

  And so I think it's people who love language and know how vitally important it is, using different--using technology to increase access to people wherever they may be.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: Angeline Boulley, thank you so much for joining us today, and thank you. We look forward to not only learning more about "Warrior Girl Unearthed" but to the next book too.

  MS. BOULLEY: Oh, miigwech. Thank you so much.

  MS. STEAD SELLERS: [Laughs] Thank you.

  And thank you to our audience. You know where to find more programming, WashingtonPostLive.com. That’s WashingtonPostLive.com. Thanks so much for joining us today. I’m Frances Stead Sellers.

  [End recorded session.]

BOULLEY, Angeline. Warrior Girl Unearthed. 400p. Holt. May 2023. TV $19.99. ISBN 9781250766588.

Gr 9 Up--Perry Firekeeper-Birch wrecked the Jeep and had to join her twin sister, Pauline, in a summer internship offered by their tribe to pay for repairs. The summer is harrowing, with local Indigenous women going missing, and the murders of Black people by police that have the twins concerned for their father's safety. Perry's internship begins with Cooper Turtle, curator of the Tribal Museum. Perry is less than enthused, but after visiting a local college and seeing the bones and artifacts of her ancestors stored there, she finds her passion--to bring her ancestors back to Sugar Island. Cooper helps educate her on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Impatient with the red tape involved with NAGPRA, Perry repatriates seeds from a college backlog collection and loses Cooper's trust. Bouncing around different tribal departments for the rest of her internship, Perry is encouraged by the sub-Chief to lead her sister and friends into a heist to repatriate a private collection. Their plan takes a dark turn, and Perry finds herself in the hands of a predator. Though a sequel to Firekeeper's Daughter, it can be read as a stand-alone. VERDICT Perry's dreams, desires, culture, traditions, and actions create a compelling narrative about one teen's attempt to undo some of the injustices her community and people have faced. Strong first buy.--Tamara Saarinen

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Saarinen, Tamara. "BOULLEY, Angeline. Warrior Girl Unearthed." School Library Journal, vol. 69, no. 5, May 2023, pp. 83+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A748258478/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a08faf05. Accessed 17 Feb. 2024.

Boulley, Angeline WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED Henry Holt (Teen None) $19.99 5, 2 ISBN: 9781250766588

Ten years after the events of Firekeeper's Daughter (2021), Boulley's thrilling debut, readers return to Michigan's Sugar Island in this stand-alone novel.

It's 2014, and Perry and Pauline Firekeeper-Birch are 16 and still devoted to their Auntie Daunis. The twins are participating in the Sugar Island Ojibwe Tribe's summer internship program: Academically driven, anxiety-prone Pauline is thrilled to be working with the Tribal Council, while impulsive, outspoken Perry, who would rather be fishing, is initially less than excited about her assignment to the tribal museum. But the girls' shared passion for their heritage and outrage over acts of desecration by greedy individuals and institutions lead them, some fellow interns who are dealing with varied life circumstances, and even some elders to carry out a daring, dangerous plan to right a terrible wrong. First-person narrator Perry's voice is irresistibly cheeky, wry, and self-aware, and her growth is realistic as, without losing her spark, she comes to understand why her beloved mentor believed that "doing the right thing for the right reason, with a good heart and clear intentions, matters." Boulley, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, sensitively and seamlessly weaves in discussions of colorism (the girls' father is Black and Anishinaabe), repatriation of cultural artifacts and human remains, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and more into a story with well-developed characterization that is both compellingly readable and deeply thought-provoking.

A page-turning heist grounded in a nuanced exploration of critical issues of cultural integrity. (Thriller. 14-18)

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Boulley, Angeline: WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A743460916/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1611fceb. Accessed 17 Feb. 2024.

Saarinen, Tamara. "BOULLEY, Angeline. Warrior Girl Unearthed." School Library Journal, vol. 69, no. 5, May 2023, pp. 83+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A748258478/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a08faf05. Accessed 17 Feb. 2024. "Boulley, Angeline: WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A743460916/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1611fceb. Accessed 17 Feb. 2024.

• Shelf Reflection
  https://www.shelfreflection.com/blog/warrior-girl-unearthed
  Word count: 2628

  Book Reviews
  Aug 28
  Written By Brittany Shields
  Warrior Girl Unearthed
  By: Angeline Boulley
  [On my list of Most Anticipated Books of 2023]
  [This book was nominated for the ‘Best YA Fiction’ category of the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards Reading Challenge ]

  “Warriors are willing to do what others can’t or won’t do for their community.”

  Warrior Girl Unearthed takes place ten years after Boulley’s debut novel, Firekeeper’s Daughter, which won many awards and was named by Time in their 100 Best YA Books of All Time.

  Firekeeper’s Daughter’s protagonist was Daunis, then- age 18. Warrior Girl Unearthed focuses on Daunis’s niece, Perry (twin to Paulline) who is now 16. She is a good character to use to follow-up to Daunis because their personalities are similar— blunt, strong, outspoken, risk-takers, opinionated, kind, loyal to their tribe and family.

  I didn’t feel as lost at first reading this book compared to Firekeeper’s Daughter. It may be because I was already prepared for the Ojibwe language and the Yooper slang to be used. It may also be that this one didn’t ALSO have all the hockey jargon and anatomy terminology that were relevant to Daunis’s character.

  It felt like Boulley didn’t take on as many threads to weave together as Firekeeper’s Daughter. The plot and character were a bit simpler. Warrior Girl Unearthed is 100 pages less, as well, so I think Boulley made some good choices with her second book.

  Another improvement Boulley made with this book was better writing of the text conversations. They were more realistic. Poorly written text messages is one of my pet peeves so I was happy about this.

  This book felt slow in the beginning. Having not really read the Goodreads summary, I wasn’t sure what the main conflict of the story was going to be.

  It starts off with Perry wrecking Daunis’s jeep and needing to earn money to pay for the repairs. This drops her into a tribal summer intern program she is less than enthused about.

  Her assignment introduces her to a collection of tribal artifacts, sacred items, and ancestral remains held at the nearby university. One of the remains is a woman they call Warrior Girl.

  I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was the set-up for the primary plot. Getting these items and remains back to their tribe where they should be. It is a discussion on the repatriation act of 1990 (NAGPRA) which was enacted not only to restore these things to their rightful place, but to make sure remains and items were treated with dignity and respect.

  Perry vows to do whatever it takes to stop the college from dragging their feet on inventorying their collection and making sure Warrior Girl is returned to their tribe where she can be returned to the earth from which she was robbed.

  The secondary plot is the increasing number of young women from their tribe and others going missing and the laws around what crimes are prosecuted by whom.

  There are lesser threads including a small romance plus the relationship between the two sisters (twins) and their differing personalities.

  So yes, it was slow in the beginning, but I think all the build-up was necessary to Perry’s character and her devotion to her vow. We have to see the challenges of jumping through hoops and doing things the legal way. We have to see the disrespect of some of the characters and her growing commitment to repatriation. We have to believe that she cares about it so much that she really is willing to do whatever it takes to complete her vow.

  It makes the climax of the book and her actions make more sense.

  Some things I liked: It was great checking in with Granny June again. It was nice to know where Daunis ended up. I really enjoyed the character (Sam Hill) who was just called ‘What-The’.

  I liked the good familial relationships shown and that even though Perry was a teenager, she still loved and respected her parents. I liked that the romantic aspect of the book was not the driving force of the plot nor of the main character’s behavior.

  I thought Boulley did a good job of using the Ojibwe language in a major way while also cluing the reader into what was said in a natural way so it didn’t feel like you were just reading a dictionary.

  Some things I didn’t like: All the swearing. It was less than some books I read, but for some reason felt like more. It may be because the main character using the f-words is a 16 year-old which feels worse. There is also some drug use (Perry’s twin keeps a stash of weed gummies for her anxiety). There is also reference to ‘sneaky snags’ which is her twin out having secret sex. Nothing is said more than that, but both the drugs and the sex are referenced as if it’s no big deal.

  Sure, maybe that’s a normal thing for teenagers— which I’m pretty sad about if it is— but I would not want my teenagers (whenever I have them) reading this book with that content. It’s marketed as a YA book, but in my opinion, the content is beyond that.

  One thing that annoyed me, which was also used in Firekeeper’s Daughter, was the phrase ‘pointed her lips.’ It was used 8 times in this book. And I still don’t really understand how this looks in real life.

  Did I like it more than Firekeeper’s Daughter?

  That is a hard question. I think I liked Daunis better than Perry. But I think the ‘mystery’ part was better in Warrior Girl Unearthed. I think the pacing was better in FD. FD also had discussion around tribal traditions and the challenges they face in America as a whole, but I think it was more dominant in WGU. Really it felt like a book about repatriation but jammed into a fictional YA framework. So I didn’t like that as much.

  It’s good to learn things about a culture I know very little about. But it felt a little too political. Espeically with the inclusion of the comments regarding black people shot by police. Perry’s father is part-black but it seemed like a political comment rather than necessary for the story. Or things like this:

  “‘You really wanna study where women and people of color are invisible?’” This quote may have been said as an exaggeration by a character, I don’t know the author’s intention, but it’s a bit too mainstream narrative for me. Women and people of color are hardly invisible. They are thriving at all levels! They may face some unique challenges at times, but as a whole I don’t believe they are as disadvantaged as I’m told to believe.

  “These moccasins were taken off of ancestors in their graves.’ He looks horror-struck. I take deep breaths before continuing.’”

  “‘I saw a ceremonial pipe fully assembled.’ He grimaces. ‘You get it, Web. Lockhart shouldn’t own it, and he for sure shouldn’t be displaying it like that.’”

  These two quotes are commenting regarding non-natives. They also talked very negatively about people who tried to sell these items at garage sales or on eBay. One the one hand, yes, there are people who are ‘grave robbers’ and intentionally steal things for their own financial benefit. Who openly disgrace the native traditions. And that’s a real problem.

  However, on the other hand, there are people who just don’t know. They don’t know what they have. How are they supposed to know that they have a ceremonial pipe and that it’s horrifying to assemble it?! I don’t know how easy it would be to find out this information, but the book didn’t not give much grace in the way of ignorance. They found any white person touching any Native item or remains as one of the worst things.

  I guess I struggle a little with wanting to respect their traditions and the sacredness of their items, but also feeling like their attitude towards this to be pretty harsh.

  I do want to learn, and I know that there were terrible things done to Native Americans (like the boarding schools) that stripped them of their culture and lives, but what she was trying to teach me via a novel felt a little too forceful in this book.

  So in conclusion, both books had their pros and cons, but overall I think my first impression after reading Firekeeper’s Daughter was a little better than after reading Warrior Girl Unearthed.

  Religious Differences
  I am not sure how to correctly state the difference between Natives who practice and worship the traditional way and Natives who became Christians, so I’ll probably say something wrong, but I’m still going to state my ponderings anyway.

  [I found this article by a Christian Native American that I thought was good]

  One thing that was said multiple times in different ways was:

  “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.”

  I would definitely not like if someone exhumed my parents, grandparents, or even great-grandparents because that does seem disrespectful or jarring emotionally. But personally, I don’t know if it would really bother me if people decided to study my ancestors’ remains. To me, they are just bones. They are not there anymore. And maybe I could learn something more about my ancestors.

  I understand that is not the way non-Christian Natives view it.

  “We ask the ancestors to forgive what was done to their physical bodies, and we pray their spirits are at peace.”

  Boulley quotes Chip Colwell saying,

  “I know for these Native American traditionalists, the bones in the boxes are pulsating with power. For them, the dead are not really dead at all... For them, repatriation is a religious duty, not a political victory.”

  And even with the treatment of their funerary items or other other cultural items. They treat bones and items as sacred. They think the bones have power and that their ancestors speak to them from the grave and guide them in their life.

  That is different than my Christian beliefs. The Bible teaches us not to worship the body or objects, that it would be idolatry. The only eternal things are God, his Word, and people’s souls. Everything else will pass away.

  If someone was going to auction off a stolen Bible for $20,000 in a disrespectful way, we may mourn the treatment of God’s Word, but I don’t think we would buy it just to return it to respect. We would (or should) use that money to help people. People who are living.

  The holiest part of Christianity is the holiness of God and of Jesus. And Jesus is alive- there are no remains to protect or preserve.

  When I think of bodily remains, I know it’s not my relatives. Their souls have departed. They don’t need that body anymore. They will get a resurrected body that is far better.

  I say this because Boulley has brought up something I’ve never thought about before. I am exploring why I have a hard time understanding their traditions. Our religious beliefs drive the way we view the world and what’s in it and it’s very different.

  Even though we have differing religious beliefs, I love that in America we are free to have and practice differing beliefs. We should still respect each other’s traditions. Their preservation and care for their funerary items does not hurt anyone so I think the repatriation act is a good and rightful thing.

  I don’t think anyone should just go around digging up known burial grounds without proper authorization. That seems like a worthy law. I can understand this sentiment:

  “Our ancestors’ bodies and funerary objects have been written on with markers and pens, handled, and studied by professors, researchers, and students for far too long. Their bodies, laid out in cardboard boxes, on metal shelves, is your university’s shameful reminder of the disrespect for human dignity.”

  I am also not an anthropologist. If we were to just return all tribal objects from anywhere in America to wherever they go— what would we lose? I don’t know. I don’t know what the aftermath would be. I guess we would then rely on the tribes around the country to educate us on their past and culture instead of studying burial grounds for that information.

  “Cooper says museums use that label, ‘culturally unidentifiable,’ as a catchall if they don’t have the resources to do a proper inventory. He says they also use it even after tribes provide evidence, because then, the museum can still hold on to the objects.’”

  I can believe that museums and university departments make little effort in following through on inventorying a collection and actually trying to get it where it needs to go. I can believe there is deception used to avoid following the rules.

  Recommendation
  Angeline Boulley, a Native and a firekeeper’s daughter, definitely writes unique books and I enjoy reading a book written from a Native author in a setting and culture that I am not familiar with. I always enjoy learning while I read.

  This book is long but doesn’t take too long to read. I think the plot is still decent and the characters are mostly likable— though sometimes Perry can be a lot.

  If you plan to read this, I think I would still read Firekeeper’s Daughter first, but you wouldn’t have to.

  Whether you are a Native yourself, or a non-Native, I think this book will invoke some feelings. Feelings that may be hard to understand and cause you to struggle. I think that’s a good thing.

  I did say that it felt too political at times, but as I reflect, I’m glad that it made me think about what I believe and how I should interact with the Ojibwe culture and religion. I don’t have it all figured out, but it’s good for me to think about.

  I think the only reason I would stop reading Boulley’s books is if the swearing continued to be as it is. (And I especially wouldn’t recommend this for YA readers as I mentioned earlier.)

  Overall, this is a book about a teenage girl who discovers an injustice done to her tribe and, like a warrior, will do anything to rectify it. It’s the (mostly) selfless quest to right a wrong and uphold the religious beliefs she and her family hold.

  I think most people will enjoy this book!

• NPR
  https://www.npr.org/2023/05/10/1172699332/warrior-girl-unearthed-firekeepers-daughter-novel-angeline-boulley
  Word count: 787

  'Warrior Girl Unearthed' revisits the 'Firekeeper's Daughter' cast of characters
  MAY 10, 20239:10 AM ET
  By

  Caitlyn Paxson

  Warrior Girl Unearthed cover
  Henry Holt & Co.
  Warrior Girl Unearthed is a gripping follow-up to Angeline Boulley's much-lauded debut, Firekeeper's Daughter. Here, we return to Sugar Island and meet the next generation of girls in the Firekeeper family.

  High school student Perry had a glorious Summer of Slack all planned out, full of fishing, teasing her go-getter twin sister Pauline, and generally enjoying life. But then she accidentally wrecks her car, and to pay back her Auntie Daunis for the repairs, she has to take a job with one of the tribal-affiliated businesses in the Kinomaage Summer Internship Program. Perry is not amused to be assigned to the last remaining and least desirable internship role — working for Cooper Turtle, the odd manager of the Sugar Island Cultural Learning Centre.

  At first, it seems like it's going to be a tedious summer of cleaning museum display cases. But then her boss takes her to a meeting at Mackinac State College where he's discussing the return of sacred and important cultural objects and the human remains of their ancestors that were stolen over the previous centuries and ended up in institutions. Perry is completely horrified by the revelation that her ancestors and their belongings are being treated like artifacts and denied their proper places of rest and respect. She is enraged by the labyrinthine laws and policies that allow institutions to delay their return indefinitely, not to mention private collectors who hoard things that they should never have had in the first place.

  Propelled by her newfound passion for bringing her ancestors and their stolen possessions home, Perry digs into her internship with gusto. But when her sense of duty to her ancestors sings louder than her respect for rules and process, she begins to engage in activities that may get her into deeper trouble than she could have imagined. For Sugar Island has its monsters — Perry's Auntie Daunis knows this all too well — and at least one of them is intent on stealing the lives of living Anishinaabe women as well as their dead. Perry will need the combined power of her family, her community, and her ancestors to bring justice to bear.

  It's clear from this sophomore novel that Boulley really knows how to construct a riveting, culturally focused thriller. Perry's deep-dive into the injustice of colonialist institutions treating her ancestors' remains as if they are things to be collected and catalogued rather than former people deserving of respect is compelling and current. The concept of the repatriation of objects that were stolen from their people is often in the news, and this book offers a very visceral view of what it might feel like to have your culture disrespected by the very people who claim to cherish history and culture. Perry herself, like her Auntie Daunis before her, is a formidable character who will not suffer fools and will not wait around for permission or salvation. Her sense of self, her faith in her family, and her dedication to her beliefs make her a pleasure to spend time with.

  In terms of the twists and turns of the story, I found that this book was very much character-driven, with a lot of the conflict and danger stemming from Perry's own decisions and actions. As the book reaches its climax, however, things begin to spin out of Perry's control, and it did feel as though a few of the twists and reveals were born out of a pressure to make this somewhat quieter story reach the same levels of drama as Firekeeper's Daughter. Perry's internal journey would have been more than enough to carry me through.

  I didn't go into reading Warrior Girl Unearthed expecting its events to be tied as closely as they are to Firekeeper's Daughter, and it was nice to settle back into the community and family that I had already grown to love in the previous book. Like a detective series where the place the detective lives becomes one of the familiar elements you expect in each new installment, Sugar Island clearly contains many stories, and I loved checking in with Daunis, Granny June, and all my other favorite characters while following Perry's unique journey. Boulley has become a must-read author for me, and I hope we will continue to get more stories about the Firekeeper family and their home on Sugar Island.

  Caitlyn Paxson is a writer and performer. She is a regular reviewer for NPR Books and Quill & Quire.

• Horn Book
  https://www.hbook.com/story/review-of-warrior-girl-unearthed-may23
  Word count: 274

  Review of Warrior Girl Unearthed
  by Nicholl Denice Montgomery
  Jul 25, 2023 | Filed in Book Reviews
  Warrior Girl Unearthed
  by Angeline Boulley
  High School Holt 400 pp.
  5/23 9781250766588 $19.99
  e-book ed. 9781250766595 $11.99

  Boulley returns to Sugar Island, Michigan, in 2014, ten years after the events of the multi-award-winning Firekeeper’s Daughter (rev. 5/21). This novel’s protagonist is Daunis’s sixteen-year-old niece, Perry Firekeeper-Birch. Perry reluctantly joins her more-driven twin sister, Pauline, on a summer internship at the tribal museum (laid-back Perry had wanted to spend the summer fishing). At the internship, Perry learns about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and also discovers that a local college has a large, uncataloged collection of human remains and artifacts that likely belong to her tribe, the Sugar Island Ojibwe. When a professor shows her the bones of a teen known as the Warrior Girl, Perry knows she must get them back to the tribe for a proper reburial, even if it involves illegal means. Boulley skillfully weaves in not only the issue of stolen Indigenous artifacts and remains but also that of missing Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people. Through Perry, readers learn how lack of federal resources and inadequate federal laws make it nearly impossible to investigate missing-persons cases on tribal land. Another powerful, vividly characterized, riveting page-turner from Boulley that will keep readers rooting for the resourceful Perry on her quest to return the Warrior Girl to her rightful resting place and for Perry’s personal growth as she finds her life’s passion and purpose.
  From the May/June 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.

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