Perry Firekeeper-Birch is looking forward to a lazy summer of fishing and spending her days outdoors, while her twin sister Pauline and good friend Lucas take part in her tribe's summer intern program. But when Perry wrecks her car, her Aunt Daunis (from Firekeeper's Daughter) requires Perry to take an internship position to pay her back for the repairs. More than a little reluctantly, Perry begins her internship at the tribal museum, but after attending a meeting with the local university finds she is passionate about the work. As she begins to learn more about the (often deliberately slow) process of getting her people's artifacts and remains back from academic institutions she and her intern team decide to plan a heist of the some of the items. The stakes are raised though when it seems some of the missing artifacts are connected to missing local Indigenous women. In connecting with her research and her tribe Perry has to learn when swift action, which she prefers, is needed and when to be patient. And sometimes even doing what she thinks is right may come with consequences for her and her loved ones.
Warrior Girl Unearthed is an intricate mystery, that connects family and friendship with the very real world issues of murdered and missing Indigenous women as well as how collectors and academic institutions have handled and misappropriated sacred artifacts and ancestral remains of Indigenous peoples.
5/5 Stars