Warrior Girl Unearthed: Weeks Five–Seven

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 34 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. curio
    something unusual, maybe worthy of collecting
    It was not just pottery and “curios” that collectors were after, but Indian skulls, bones, scalps, and sometimes whole heads and bodies.
  2. meek
    evidencing little spirit or courage
    I stay angry; it feels better than being meek and scared.
  3. oblivion
    the state of being disregarded or forgotten
    The priests, nuns, and government folks at the boarding schools were not satisfied in beating children’s bodies; they sought to beat Anishinaabe memories into oblivion.
  4. intrigue
    a crafty and involved plot to achieve your ends
    “Drop me off at Auntie’s place, hey? And don’t mention it to anyone.”
    “Intrigue.”
  5. competent
    legally qualified or sufficient
    An Elder who said their grandfather had a basket where he stored a folded certificate, signed by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, deeming the grandfather to be “competent,” which meant he spoke English and therefore was eligible to receive tracts of land during the Dawes Act.
  6. tract
    an extended area of land
    An Elder who said their grandfather had a basket where he stored a folded certificate, signed by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, deeming the grandfather to be “competent,” which meant he spoke English and therefore was eligible to receive tracts of land during the Dawes Act.
  7. allotted
    given as a task or a portion
    Between frozen moments, I move quickly to explore as many boxes as possible in my allotted window of time.
  8. don
    put on clothes
    “I don’t know why council interns had to show up so early,” I tell her, donning the plain black sweatshirt.
  9. disheveled
    in disarray; extremely disorderly
    She isn’t paying attention to anyone else, only this disheveled man.
  10. bereft
    sorrowful through loss or deprivation
    Once her phone is back in her pocket, Auntie turns to the bereft man. “Tell me what Mrs. Bailey would have done to help you.”
  11. poised
    marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
    She is instantly alert, poised to attack and protect.
  12. livid
    furiously angry
    “He what?” She is livid.
    “Grant Edwards asked Pauline if she plays hockey,” I repeat.
    Auntie’s ivory complexion reddens as her fury grows.
  13. avid
    marked by active interest and enthusiasm
    Chief Manitou introduces Frank Lockhart as “a Sugar Island man born and raised, a successful businessman, and an avid collector of Ojibwe art and artifacts.”
  14. spite
    hurt the feelings of
    “I waited ten years for this.” I recognize Frank Lockhart’s voice.
    “Just to spite me? And for what, a woman?”
  15. impassive
    having or revealing little emotion or sensibility
    His expression softens the tiniest amount at the sight of me before his face becomes impassive.
  16. guttural
    relating to or articulated in the throat
    His gasp is thick and guttural.
  17. resigned
    accepting that something unpleasant cannot be changed
    Resigned to the situation, I try to think of a first step to write down.
  18. tenacious
    stubbornly unyielding
    “I want to be wherever the decisions about funding get made,” I say with determination.
    “Now you’re being strategic as well as tenacious.”
  19. backlog
    accumulate tasks or jobs that have not yet been dealt with
    He knows the next step is to complete the inventory of backlogged items and the Lockhart items.
  20. consensus
    agreement in the judgment reached by a group as a whole
    Since a workshop isn’t an actual meeting, the board does things by verbal consensus instead of documented votes.
  21. provision
    a stipulated condition
    The Three Fires lady explains that VAWA was reauthorized last year, and it included a provision for tribes to detain or prosecute non-Natives who harm their wives or domestic partners on tribal land.
  22. invoke
    cite as an authority
    “I am invoking my authority as tribal chief to table this matter indefinitely.”
  23. adamant
    impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, or reason
    “I am even more sorry that I can’t keep you on. Chief Manitou is adamant. Tomorrow is your last day with Tribal Council.”
  24. redundancy
    repetition of messages to reduce the probability of errors
    “If we’re pairing up, why do we each need a recorder?” Erik asks.
    Of course my sister has an answer. “Redundancy. If one recorder is poorly positioned or malfunctions, you’ll have a backup.”
  25. impartial
    free from undue bias or preconceived opinions
    “No. I apologize again for getting so worked up. It’s exactly why I can’t be an impartial investigator.”
  26. arraign
    call before a court to answer an indictment
    My aunt Daunis is being arraigned on murder charges.
  27. conspiratorial
    relating to or characteristic of a secret plot or agreement
    He lowers his voice in a conspiratorial whisper.
  28. bailiff
    officer of the court employed to execute writs and processes
    “Bailiff, I want this courtroom cleared,” the judge says.
  29. waiver
    a formal written statement of relinquishment
    “Your new supervisor is Bucky Nodin?” Mom shakes her head. “I should’ve done what Dan Jackson did and requested a nepotism waiver so I could hire you myself.”
  30. stifle
    conceal or hide
    She shakes her head and stifles another yawn.
  31. keen
    having or showing interest and intense desire
    I’ve been wondering why Grant Edwards was so keen on Mack State becoming a tribal college.
  32. subordinate
    an assistant subject to the authority or control of another
    The woman from UTFAV is pretending to be a supervisor of a male subordinate, played by a very awkward Officer What-The, dressed in street clothes.
  33. blather
    talk foolishly
    They blather on about work stuff.
  34. mezzanine
    intermediate floor just above the ground floor
    Pauline grabs my arm and leads me to a quiet place in the mezzanine.
  35. opaque
    not transmitting or reflecting light or radiant energy
    Whenever we were in his office, he’d make the sliding doors opaque so no one could look in.
  36. visceral
    coming from deep inward feelings rather than from reasoning
    Sometimes Pauline and I experience “twin brain,” like finishing each other’s sentences or having a visceral reaction to something the other is experiencing.
  37. reconnaissance
    the act of scouting, especially to gain information
    “Do you want company? I’ve been wanting to check out Frank Lockhart’s property on the south end of the island,” I say. “Hypothetical reconnaissance.”
  38. parcel
    an extended area of land
    “At some point, Frank Lockhart’s father started collecting ten-acre parcels like...like baseball cards, I guess. Now all of this belongs to him.”
  39. rustic
    characteristic of rural life
    Junior runs ahead to a cluster of simple tar-paper houses in varying stages of disintegration. Roofs collapsed under the weight of heavy snowfalls. Single-pane windows used for target practice at some point. These rustic homes were occupied by generations of Nodins.
  40. silo
    a cylindrical tower used for storing grain
    “There’s a structure next to the barn,” she says, after I’ve handed the binoculars over.
    I squint. “The silo?”
Created on Sun Jan 07 12:32:27 EST 2024 (updated Mon Jan 08 09:00:44 EST 2024)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.