Warrior Girl Unearthed: Week Two

by Angeline Boulley
Also a Firekeeper's Daughter, sixteen-year-old Pearl (Perry) Mary Firekeeper-Birch would rather be fishing on Sugar Island, but as a summer intern, she becomes involved in a database of missing and murdered Indigenous women throughout Michigan.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Week One, Week Two, Weeks Three–Four, Weeks Five–Seven, Week Eight–Epilogue
40 words 88 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. powwow
    a council of or with Native Americans
    It reminds me of trips that Pauline, Auntie Daunis, Uncle Levi, and I would take with Mom and Pops. Berry picking. Car bingo. Camping. Powwows.
  2. repatriation
    the act of returning to one's country of origin
    NAGPRA means the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. MACPRA stands for the Michigan Anishinaabek Cultural Preservation and Repatriation Alliance.
  3. prissy
    exaggeratedly proper
    She reminds me of Auntie’s prissy Zhaaganaash grandmother, GrandMary.
  4. patrimony
    an inheritance coming by right of birth
    “Well, I meant the funerary objects, sacred objects, and items of cultural patrimony,” I say, feeling proud at having remembered these terms.
  5. grievous
    causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm
    Cooper’s eyes are flickering with something grievous and combustible.
  6. ascertain
    learn or determine by making an inquiry or other effort
    There is also one ancestor whose origins have not been ascertained.
  7. gnarled
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    He points to a gnarled line along her thigh bone. “She sustained a major injury from a knife even larger than her own AFO. We know it was a knife because animal claws would have left parallel lines.”
  8. substantial
    of good quality and condition; solidly built
    Resting in my palm, the flint is heavier than I thought. Substantial would be the right word.
  9. interdisciplinary
    drawing from two or more fields of study
    Pops, that interdisciplinary program would mean I wouldn’t have to choose between environmental science and economics.
  10. humanities
    studies intended to provide general knowledge and skills
    The sign reads HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES.
  11. outcropping
    part of a rock formation that juts above surrounding land
    File folders, loose papers, and shoeboxes are stacked floor to ceiling. Assorted coffee mugs rest on outcroppings of books.
  12. appropriation
    money set aside for a specific purpose, as by a legislature
    “Cooper, you know NAGPRA didn’t include appropriations for institutions to complete the inventories. I’m responsible for the museum’s collection. You know I do my best, but I cannot be more specific in describing the items in the inventory without the time and resources to properly catalog them.”
  13. modest
    not large but sufficient in size or amount
    “Might be better to start with a modest request,” Cooper reasons.
    “Nonsense,” she declares grandly. “Let us aim for the stars.”
  14. wavelength
    a way of thinking or coming to mutual understanding
    His button-down shirt is red, the same as my T-shirt. If he’s wearing black jeans, I’ll take it as a doubly strong sign that we are on the same wavelength.
  15. sacrilege
    blasphemous behavior
    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.
  16. manifest destiny
    a policy of imperialist expansion said to be inevitable
    It’s about Manifest Destiny, the belief in a divine right to conquer America. It was how they justified forcing people off their ancestral lands, only to make way for plantations later on.
  17. entity
    that which is perceived to have its own distinct existence
    Committing atrocities and calling it the will of a supreme entity wasn’t just an America thing.
  18. patter
    a quick succession of light rapid sounds
    The continuous patter from the fountain is like a steady rainfall.
  19. osmosis
    the gradual and unconscious absorption of knowledge or ideas
    Auntie told Pauline and me that she kept schoolbooks beneath her pillow in case osmosis worked with written words.
  20. causeway
    a road that is raised above water, marshland, or sand
    Pauline and I jog the causeway before heading north on Westshore Drive as it follows the curve of the island.
  21. fray
    wear away by rubbing
    Seller Notes: Vintage, Very Good Condition for Age. Some bead loss and fraying. You’d have loss and fraying if you were over one hundred years old too, I think.
  22. provenance
    where something originated or started
    Provenance: Ownership History Not Available.
    Cooper used that word in GrandRaquel’s office. I look up provenance, which means “origin or source.” Merriam-Webster says it’s also known as “history of ownership.”
  23. savvy
    marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
    The vest sold to a savvy buyer who hid it in a box of clothing and offered her a hundred bucks for the lot. When Dances With Wolves came out, the savvy buyer sold the vest for ten times what he’d paid.
  24. affiliated
    being joined in close association
    “You read the NAGPRA law about how institutions were given five years to complete their inventory and identify all human remains and cultural materials, so tribes could request to repatriate the ancestors and items that are culturally affiliated, right?”
  25. sullenly
    in a manner showing a brooding ill humor
    “Yeah,” I say sullenly. “Raquel the Hoarder says everything is culturally unidentifiable until she can take the time to determine whether it’s ours or another tribe’s.”
  26. chattel
    personal property, as opposed to real estate
    This usually leads to a history lesson about government-issued commodity foods and the Zhaaganaash colonization of our Anishinaabe digestive systems and food insecurity during or after chattel slavery and how that’s why Pops has diabetes.
  27. renege
    fail to fulfill a promise or obligation
    When their designated driver reneged on staying sober, Darby decided to walk to an old boyfriend’s hunting camp instead of ride with someone who had been drinking.
  28. culvert
    a transverse and enclosed drain under a road or railway
    Tribal Police already searched the roads and culverts between the bar and the hunting camp.
  29. unbridled
    not restrained or controlled
    Her glare is unbridled fury.
  30. trustee
    a member of a governing board
    “He was impressed with my background research for the meeting yesterday morning with one of the trustees from Mackinac State College about turning it into a tribal college.”
  31. sporadic
    recurring in scattered or unpredictable instances
    Ignoring Junior’s sporadic whining, I eagerly dive in.
  32. expansive
    able or tending to extend in one or more directions
    The family room has a rowing machine, treadmill, and home gym with another waterfront view beyond the walk-out patio beneath the expansive great-room deck above.
  33. escapade
    any carefree episode
    There isn’t much to see in my bedroom except for the huge bulletin board filled with photos of my fishing escapades over the years.
  34. discreet
    unobtrusively perceptive and sympathetic
    Erik goes back to the laptop, giving me privacy to wipe away angry tears. After a discreet minute, his posture snaps to attention.
  35. trinket
    a small cheap ornament, knickknack, or piece of jewelry
    “The seller is from St. Ignace. That’s, what, less than an hour away? His name is Frank Lockhart. He has other items listed on eBay. And a business called Teepees-n- Trinkets.”
  36. mull
    reflect deeply on a subject
    Pauline would mull over her answer, practicing it in her head, and only after considering how much she’s willing to risk would she reply.
  37. patina
    a thin or superficial layer on the surface of something
    A thick layer of dust adds an antique patina to the items inside.
  38. skewed
    favoring one person or side over another
    Erik and I tour the “museum,” which consists of a skewed history of the area. Jesuit priests saving us pagan heathens. Pshhht. As if they wouldn’t have starved without our help.
  39. woo
    seek someone's favor
    Maybe someday he’ll woo the world with them eyes.
  40. inflection
    the modification of pitch, tone, or volume when speaking
    “Did you take the basket,” Erik asks without inflection. He already knows.
Created on Sun Jan 07 12:32:04 EST 2024 (updated Mon Jan 08 11:04:39 EST 2024)

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