Dinner and a book is supported by the Rex and Alice A. Martin Foundation of Elkhart, celebrating the spirit of Alice Martin and her love of good food and good friends.

And her second compelling young adult novel, Warrior Girl Unearthed.

Ojibwe writer Angelina Jolie introduces us to the next generation of indigenous characters who have a lot to teach readers of any age.

We are invested in the political awakening of a young woman.

Perry fire keeper Birch Perry's education about missing and murdered indigenous women intersects with learning about the unethical collection and trade of sacred items and ancestral remains.

Readers learn along side with Perry, about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and other policies that have mostly failed to return to tribes.

What has long been owed to them.

What a treat to have the author herself in the studio today to discuss this dynamic novel and its origins.

Welcome, Angela.

Oh, it's such a pleasure to be here.

Thrilled.

Yeah.

So I loved the book.

So tell us how you pitched it to your publisher.

I pitched it as indigenous Lara Croft.

But instead of Lara Croft Tomb Raider, it was the 16 year old Ojibwe teen, raiding museums and, private collections to retrieve ancestral remains and sacred items that do not belong in museums and collections.

So much about.

So, we're making a feast inspired by the book.

Food plays a big role in the book.

And so I pass this over to you for you.

Okay?

And, let's talk about what we're making.

So, what dishes will you be preparing?

I am making, venison, venison roast with, wild rice.

And then, for dessert, a creme brulee.

Maple creme brulée.

So you will be a fire keeper.

I have the blowtorch to prove that.

Yes, yes.

And I'll be making, Three sisters inspired.

Kind of, vegetable medley and a salad with wild blueberries and, some nuts and cranberries and crunch.

So tell us what you're getting started with here.

Sure.

So I'm going to start first introduce you to, the Wild Rice.

So what I did, every time I speak in a native community, especially around the Great Lakes, I, they gift me with wonderful gifts.

And I usually get gifted wild rice and maple sirup from their community.

It's such an honor.

But for you, I'm sure I'm showing, something I bought at my local grocery store and it's just a little bit of, wild rice that you can get so you don't have to be a famous author.

You don't have to get that one.

But I'm telling you, the the gifted wild rice tastes better.

Oh, I'm sure that's wonderful.

And then I'm all about.

If I can take a shortcut, I'll take a shortcut.

And my shortcut is, I so with, wild Rice.

Just remember two cups, two hours.

So for this little bit.

Oh my goodness, I do, one can of the French onion soup and a can of either the golden mushroom or beef consommé.

You could also do, a cup of chicken stock or vegetable stock.

You can very easily convert this to a vegan.

Oh for sure.

Yes.

You can even just smell how flavorful it is.

And you put, some vegetables in there, too.

Yes, I did so.

And I go to the grocery store, the part where they already do most of the slicing for you.

And so what I did is, I add just a little bit of Cara, a little bit of celery, a little bit of green onion.

And that's what I did with this.

I put it in a crock pot.

So just remember two cups, two hours.

I will remember that I, with this little bit of, wild rice, this is four ounces of wild rice and then two cups, two hours.

Okay.

Enough to make a nice side dish.

Oh, yeah.

Definitely.

This is definitely enough for, 4 to 6 people.

Generous servings.

Beautiful.

And I'm just getting started here.

The base of the three sisters with some, a little, almost miracle.

A little, you know, onion and celery to get this started, so.

Oh, that looks good.

So food plays a very big part in this book.

And you talked about that a little bit here, but, you know, anybody who likes to eat talk will be inspired by, by the book.

And venison is also in the book.

So can you talk a little bit about, where your venison comes from?

And so in the book, Perry goes to an alternative high school, and she gets one day a week where she's independent studies so she can hunt with her dad or go fishing, do any subsistence hunting.

Fishing, gathering.

And so I have some venison, which, I have a great venison connection that I will never see.

So I tried to get it out of her.

No, no, I am protective of that.

So what?

The venison tenderloin looks like.

And then what I did is I, had researched best ways of cooking venison and, Yeah.

And I found three different marinades.

And one was to marinade the tenderloin with, Coca-Cola.

One was to marinate it with red wine, and one was to marinate it with buttermilk.

And I tested all of these and my favorite was the buttermilk.

So, what I do is so yes, we always start with the olive oil.

It has a, a higher, smoke rate burn rate than others.

If you just try to cook with pure butter, you're going to get a burning mess.

So I like to start with the olive oil, add in some real butter and then now honestly I just poured I just poured buttermilk into into a plastic bag with.

Yeah.

And got it marinating there.

So while you're while you're about to put that in, you introduce us to Perry, who does, Oh my gosh, very compelling character.

And maybe how she how she came to mind for you.

Oh my gosh.

So I was working on my first book prior to First Daughter, and my agent said, what other books do you have to pitch?

Because when we go to, you know, book auction, hopefully, we're going to want to pitch more than one book and, each.

Okay, each of these venison slices are about three, about three ounces each.

Okay.

And she said, what what else do you have?

And I was like, I have nothing.

I have worked on.

Firekeepers daughter, my, my debut for 36 years.

And then the character of Perry just popped into my head.

That just sounds like a dream.

You know what?

She popped into my head.

I was out for a Sunday walk.

This character's voice booms in my head.

I stole everything they think I did and even stuff they don't know about yet.

And I thought, who is this person?

I make my hair stand up.

Ran into the nearest business.

It was, in, Alexandria, Virginia, where I was living at the time, and I ran up to the bar and I said, can I have a piece of paper, a pen and a Chardonnay?

And I just know how novels I wrote, this stream of consciousness of the 16 year olds are all sitting at a police station covered in blood, and she's thinking, how did it come to this?

Yeah.

So, okay, now with this, you want a decent seat level because really, you want a life experience and you want the buttery goodness to just get all in.

Oh, it's nice and browns.

Oh, yeah.

Chatterton Mills.

Very, very good.

Yeah.

And this, this Three Sisters accompaniment has corn and, squash and beans, pinto beans, probably adaptable to different kinds of beans and squash and, pumpkin plays a role, a formative role in the first part of the book like that.

It sure does.

Yeah.

So what?

Perry, as she's starting to learn about wrongs that have been done, she sees some seeds.

That's her first I. Yeah.

So.

Okay, this 16 year old girl is doing these heists.

And of course, none of her heists go the way that she planned.

She's so appealing.

I know she's so, like, impulsive and well intentioned.

Yes.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

She swiped some heirloom seeds that she finds in a basket in a professor's office.

She steals them or reclaims that.

Yeah, and plants them.

And then she just, I just love how her awakening to that activist.

This isn't right.

I'm going to do what it takes to get these back.

Yes.

Yeah.

We're totally hooked.

So we're going to take a little break here and go to some images and materials from Angela and Bully's wonderful website, which will hope you will check out.

We'll be right back.

Angelina and I are here talking about her wonderful novel, Warrior Girl Unearthed.

And what are you making in this segment which already looks so delicious?

I am making a maple creme brulee, which is the best dessert I've ever had in my life.

And again, I am not a professional, nor so I take any of any water necessary.

So I'm starting out.

Normally the recipe calls for two cups of a heavy cream.

I'm doing a one and a half, and of course, a touch of butter, because everything is better with coffee.

And then when I do speaking engagements in native communities, a lot of times, especially around the Great Lakes, they will gift me, maple sirup from their own sugarbush.

Along with wild rice.

And so this, you know, sometimes the maple sirup is very runny, and that's the perfect one and really dark.

So this is if you like, a really intensive flavor that, rice grade.

So I'm replacing one half cup of the heavy cream.

Oh.

With a half a cup of the maple sirup.

Okay.

Marvelous.

And then I think Terry would have, would approve.

She would, she would.

All right.

And I'm putting together a pretty simple salad that features, indigenous ingredients, with some greens and some pecans and, fresh blueberries and dried cranberries and a little balsamic honey dressing.

So I've got an easier task than you do.

But there it is.

It's on its way.

So, can you talk a little bit about your decision, which is so compelling for the reader to include indigenous language?

So edition of a mon in the book, and, you know, your decision in the challenges.

It worked so well.

Sure.

So Perry is fluent in Ojibwe, and so she has conversations with other people in Ojibwe.

And so I just wanted the language to feel organic to the story and that you didn't necessarily you don't need to be fluent in Ojibwe to understand, the language that's in the book.

And, so I always feel like if I do my job as an author, the reader will not feel left behind.

But I do recommend my audiobook to if you just love to hear that language because it is so beautiful.

It has such as, a flowery cadence to it.

I highly recommend the audio.

What a beautiful way to put it.

And it works organically in the novel, because so many of the, even native peoples are learning or relearning the language.

So there's all these, opportunities for people to hear a phrase and then to have somebody repeat it so that you do really just the reader.

Oh, yeah, we learned some phrases that we can that we can use.

Exactly.

And because of the impact of the boarding schools and so many, you know, there were, you know, two generations of, native peoples who were taken from their communities as children and stayed in boarding schools until they were in their late teens.

And when they returned to their communities, they had no knowledge of the language or by design.

Yeah, yeah.

The boarding schools, they would be, you know, haircut and and beaten if they spoke the language or so it was very traumatic.

Yeah.

And so the reclaiming of Ojibwe language and other native languages is just so important in my community.

My father grew up, he was raised by his great grandmother, and she only spoke the language.

Oh my goodness.

So growing up, that's what he learned.

And, so when I was working on the language for the book, my dad spells everything frenetically, as if you learn it just by spoken.

That's how you spell things as phonetically.

Well, I worked with a professor at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and she said, if I use the double vowel system, which is more of a, consistent way for language, spelling and pronunciation, that my books could be used as a supplemental text in Ojibwe language course.

Okay.

So I made that decision to follow the double vowel system.

And but I'll tell you, my dad is still salty that I didn't use the or, you know, the, the phonetic spelling.

So, for example, the word mig, which means what?

Want me?

Thank you.

Has the double eye in there.

The double eye in there where my dad just does m e g mc, which, And then when my dad pronounces it, he'll say, or as they say in my village mic, which.

So, when my editor and agent went to Sugar Island for our annual Sugar Island powwow, they met my dad.

My dad's like, hey, I'm a wise old elder.

I'll tell you everything I know.

And what I don't know, I'll make up.

And they just have.

Oh, yeah.

Oh that's great.

And I've just mixing up here, it's really super simple dressing, which has a little bit of water in it, but otherwise balsamic vinegar and olive oil and honey, which I had to wear to wake up a little bit, and a little bit of salt and pepper.

And this is oh my gosh, what a beautiful color.

Oh, we've got a beautiful beginning to boil.

And now we're just constantly whisking.

But it looks like it's already really thick.

It's lovely really.

So if you'd like I can just read one little part.

Oh, please.

Yeah.

Hey, I'll double task here.

My tribe teaches us to think seven generation ahead when we make decisions.

Need a map.

Would have thought about me.

I am her seventh generation and she was someone else's seventh generation.

Our Anishinaabe teachings are not abstract concepts or folklore.

My ancestors had names and they lived through good times and bad.

They dreamt of me and I dream of them.

Oh, I love that passage.

So that's Perry introducing herself to the other.

Yes, a group of interview members and other interns and, professors from a college that has a collection that includes ancestors from her community that they have been very reluctant to return.

So this is let's talk a little bit about the, the driving narrative of the plot.

And we will not reveal the ending.

But I got to tell you, I stayed up late.

You are a very strong finisher.

The plot just, really is propulsive.

Through the book and then especially at the end.

But these so-called experts, do not come across very well in this book.

And we you really reorient readers and you said Athey and the author's note, really, this is about who controls indigenous bodies?

Yes.

Who have the right to.

Yes.

Yeah.

So what are some of the, these, college experts, the so-called experts, the collectors.

What is the nature of what Perry discovers about the treatment of sacred?

She discovers that, anthropologists and archeologists view a shard of pottery in the same way that they would view a bone from her aunts, from an ancestor.

They see no difference, and they view it as an artifact.

Yeah.

And to her, these were these are ancestors that were, they were not taken with consent.

There were grave robbers that would wait until the family had left the grave site in order to, Yeah, definitely.

And so her outrage is certainly understandable.

And, so her decision to do a heist of a private collector.

Yeah.

That is really the main, climactic scene in the book is what, her and her band of misfit toys.

What?

There's a nice romance in there.

It's just a sweet little, sweet romance.

And just for.

I appreciated the, You know, these teenage and young, these young characters are, Gosh, they feel everything so deeply, and you really bring us along, you know, they are.

They are.

They should be.

Okay, so here we go into these, ramekins.

Lovely.

Into the ramekins.

And I'm just adding a little bit of feta cheese here, which, and then the ramekins, because we're using a mix, we don't need to bake them.

They actually go into the fridge and they're chilled for about, at least two hours, preferably more.

Okay.

And then and then the fun there will be a little resistance.

Yes, at the end here.

So, maybe you could say just a little bit about the sense of place.

This takes place in Sugar Island, a place that, you know.

Well, yeah, that's the back of menacing.

That's what we call Sugar Island.

And, you know, we we tap maple trees, we make our own sirup.

Every year our tribe does a powwow, and it feels more like a family reunion at Sugar Island.

And so it's just a beautiful place between the sea, the Sainte Marie, Michigan, and Sioux Sainte Marie, Ontario, which we could visit.

It's it's within driving distance of us.

And the, the place is really almost a character.

It's just layered with memories and history and, and so sacred, sacred histories, that really speaks to all of us.

So we're going to take a little break while the custard chills and, you'll see some images of the Sugar Island ferry, which plays a major role.

And also here a little bit of the Ojibway language from the audio book.

We'll be right back.

Angelina is going to do the finishing touch on the creme brulée.

After your creme brulée has set, you get out your trusty blowtorch, and I.

Ideally, you use maple sugar.

Right here.

I'm just finishing up granulated.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

We got a nice, beautiful little brown coat on it.

Well, can finish it up at home.

Yes.

Now, if you, are not of the do the creme brulée, there is this beautiful maple buttercream cookie available online from Cheryl's cookies.

So these award winning books, New York Times best selling books are so riveting.

We learn a lot.

You also offer some resources at the back of the book, right?

I sure do about to learn more about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which is called, Nagpra.

Lots of resources for you to learn more about it.

So wonderful for book groups.

This is pitched as older young adult fiction, but really readers of adult crossover adult stuff for that late term, my website and my, publisher Macmillan, their website, they have book club, discussion guides.

And you could make a feast, inspired by the book.

So tell us about the other dish that you've made here.

Okay.

Venison.

A half of a wild rice with, carrots and celery.

Awesome.

It just smells fantastic.

And I've made a, Three Sisters vegetable medley and a salad with some, fresh blueberries.

So I do think any book group would just, eat this book right up.

And you're working on another book right now?

Yes, I'm working on my third book in this series, and it takes place between the first book and the second book.

Everything to be read out of order.

Yeah.

And so, yeah, it's, actually more of a sequel to Fire Keeper's Daughter.

You kind of see what happened and where people ended up in the second book.

And do we get to see Perry again?

Yes.

Okay.

Yeah, I'm very attached to that character.

And donnis, I mean, some of the characters from The Fire Keepers daughter will come back.

So the multi generations, of characters that you introduce us to are also built on so many other characters.

We've got a, local to Michigan wine champion from, yes, from mayhem, winery in Verona.

Beautiful.

Smells fantastic.

Thank you so much for coming on the show.

What a delight to for you to all of you for joining us as well.

We will see you next time on dinner and a book.

This Wnit, local production has been made possible in part by viewers like you.

Thank you.

Dinner and a book is supported by the Rex and Alice A. Martin Foundation of Elkhart, celebrating the spirit of Alice Martin and her love of good food and good friends.