Warrior Girl Unearthed Quotes
"The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express."
"Life doesn’t come with a manual, it comes with a mother."
"Every story has an end, but in life every ending is a new beginning."
"Happiness is not out there, it’s in you."
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
"Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life."
"When you can’t find the sunshine, be the sunshine."
"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain."
"The only impossible journey is the one you never begin."
"Shit, maybe Pauline was right. I am a negative person."
"I’m going to make a cake for after dinner tonight."
"I’m ready to talk about my tasks anytime you’re available."
"What really pisses me off is the part where Hopi carved figurines, sacred items, were sold to a collector who ended up destroying them to avoid getting caught."
"I don’t remember a lot from then—a birthday cake, splashing in mud puddles, her laughter."
"Cooper, how do you do this work when your heart feels so heavy?"
"If you want to know, ask her. It’s her story to tell."
"They even had a winter survival camp for building shelters and learning how to conserve your body heat."
"The authorities knew who did it, but no one ever got charged."
"I felt her laugh go through me, and I was part of her."
"Whoa. Check out that view. You’re that close to Canada?"
"You put me at risk," he says. "I’m on probation."
"Our Anishinaabe teachings are not abstract concepts or folklore."
"Did you know Auntie and TJ text back and forth all damn day? Are they fuck buddies?"
"I don’t know if I like you without the rest of Team Misfit Toys."
"The instant she is about to touch it, Elvis Junior barks."
"You don’t know how you’d react in that situation."
"It’s not just about winning; it’s about how you conduct yourself and represent your community."
"I admire warriors who are willing to do what others can’t or won’t do for the community."
"Sometimes you need to protect your heart from the pain."
"What if I looked through the boxes and found baskets signed with familiar surnames?"
"I know it’s not a competition between Kinomaage supervisors, but I admire Web’s ability to take action."
"You can’t say the wrong thing if you stay silent."
"We look for ways to communicate and share information with other tribes."
"Without consequences, we see perpetrators become predators."
"It’s the reason why the tribe couldn’t prosecute Grant Edwards for raping Auntie."
"Violent crimes committed on tribal land against Nish kwewag would fall under federal jurisdiction."
"Perpetrators who don’t face consequences become predators."
"The Tribe would put the land into trust; they would add it to their holdings."
"Violence Against Women Act included a provision for tribes to detain or prosecute non-Natives who harm their wives or domestic partners on tribal land."
"Whatever happens in the chief’s office stays in the chief’s office. Ha-ha-ha."
"They disregard our oral history as folklore."
"Amii izhi nibaan. Gego gotaajiken. Gizaagi’in."
"I catch myself shrugging. 'Aazha gegaa.' Soon."
"Stormy repeats the question. He wants specifics."
"He says nothing. I have to respect his silence as his answer."
"Stormy carries the full basket as we walk back to the house. I hold the door open for him."
"As he passes by me, he says, 'Wiidookodaadimin.'"
"Then I catch Lucas looking at my twin when she leaves the dining table to clear her plate."
"Lucas Chippeway is in love with my sister."
"Perry Pulls-No-Punches would tease Lucas with a cutting remark just deep enough to sting."
"I don’t know why I keep them inside me."
"We’ll have a twelve-hour window to get the ancestors away from Lockhart’s property."
"Pauline basks in our admiration until her need for more details overtakes her pride."
"Shense will know about the security system and won’t help retrieve the ancestors."
"Web will arrange for the transportation, and I will drive the moving van."
"Stormy will know what to do for the ancestors after we bring them to a safe place."
"They need us to comfort them. Not the other way around."
"We are going to need two or three Elders to help."
"Granny and Minnie will need to use a car or truck that doesn’t have GPS."
"Lucas, can you borrow one of the Fisheries boats?"
"I feel like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. One truck is too small. One is too big. Is the medium one just right?"
"I imagine the shadow boxes stacked vertically, packed tightly to avoid toppling over."
"Because she wants to get on my penultimate nerve."
"I text the group and notify Stormy in person with the date and time of Go Time."
"We arrive at Go Time and surveil the property."
"Stormy rides in back with the ancestors. I drive the van."
"Stormy and I move the ancestors from the van to Stormy’s temporary holding place."
"Perry, I hate to do this to you, but we need to change your assignment one more time."
"With my sister and Erik Miller?" I don’t understand.
"The young man’s family is preparing to bury their loved one."
"People hunted down like prey. Researchers wanting our bones."
"I feel stupid for not knowing about specific apps for tracking lightning."
"Shense calls twice—first to alert and second to confirm power outage."
"The city police are the opposite of helpful."
"Seems to me there’s a lot of Indigenous women going missing lately."
"We don’t live on the reservation," Mr. Jackson points out.
"Well, it’s a Sunday morning and I don’t have the manpower to look for a teenage girl who hasn’t come home yet."
"If your daughter was the missing girl, what resources would you use to find her?"
"I shouldn’t have favorites, but I so enjoy your joie de vivre!"
"Your zest for life! I admire your irrepressible spirit."
"I’ll give a heads-up, like a countdown."
"I flash the radar screen at Pauline and give a thumbs-up."
"Which colors mean what?" I ask, feeling even more like an idiot.
"Red means within the past fifteen minutes."
"My burner phone vibrates in my sports bra around midnight."
"At what point did I fall asleep? And how could I fall asleep while waiting for such an important call?"
"Willing it to subside, I think of any reason why Shense would not have made the second phone call."
"I check my burner, which is at 97 percent charged."
"I pray for Shense’s cousin—to keep him safe during the lightning strikes, and that he cuts the power line without any issues."
"I don’t know of any burial traditions from Grandma Cake’s side of the family."
"The loss of a young Black man. Native women going missing."
"My pumpkins rest atop a leftover flagstone paver."
"They resemble squat green balls on life rafts."
"I did like a reverse jump rope to get the zip tie from behind me to in front of me. Then I found an old arrowhead in a corner to cut through the plastic. I got my legs free next."
"Okay, we got a fetishy creeper," I state the fact.
"You don’t have to smile unless you feel like it. Same with hugging or kissing. You never gotta do it to be polite or make someone else happy. That’s a big lesson right there."
"I am blessed. I am brave. I am intelligent. I am my ancestors’ greatest wish."
"I am every good thing about Ziisiibaaka Minising. I grew up drinking her spring water. I took my first steps on her back."
"I probably can figure it out. Like I say, I’ve got your number."
"She didn’t reject me. My aunt loved me."