56 pages • 1-hour read
Sisters in the Wind
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Background
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of child abuse and racism.
Political Context: The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
The central conflict in Sisters in the Wind is rooted in the history and ongoing legal battles surrounding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978. This federal law was enacted to redress the widespread practice of forcibly removing Indigenous children from their families and placing them in non-Indigenous homes and institutions. As Jamie explains to Lucy, Congress passed ICWA recognizing that “tribes had a right to their children because they represented the future survival of the tribe” (91). His organization, Raven Air Associates, is dedicated to upholding the law’s mandate by helping former foster children reconnect with their tribal communities, a mission directly opposing the actions of caseworkers like the one who advised Lucy to hide her heritage to avoid “complicat[ing] everything” (94). The novel’s focus on ICWA reflects a real-world political struggle. As detailed in the author’s note, the law has faced numerous legal challenges from groups arguing it is unconstitutional. The most prominent recent case, Haaland v. Brackeen (2023), saw the U.S. Supreme Court uphold ICWA, affirming tribal sovereignty in matters of child welfare (NARF. ICWA. 2026). However, ongoing opposition highlights the real-world stakes of Jamie’s work and frames Lucy’s personal journey of discovery as part of a larger fight for tribal rights and cultural preservation. By grounding its narrative in the politics of ICWA, the novel illuminates how federal policy directly impacts Indigenous families and their struggle for self-determination.
Cultural Context: Anishinaabe Traditions and Worldview
Sisters in the Wind is deeply embedded in the worldview of the Anishinaabe peoples, a group of culturally related Indigenous tribes including the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi. The novel introduces readers to key cultural concepts that shape the characters’ understanding of family, spirituality, and responsibility. One of the most significant is the offering of semaa (tobacco), which Abe Charlevoix introduces to Lucy as a way to give thanks and maintain balance. In Anishinaabe culture, semaa is one of the Four Sacred Medicines and is used to communicate with the Creator and show respect (Durham College. Four Sacred Medicines. 2026). When Abe teaches Lucy this ritual at her father’s grave, explaining that “it balances” (48) the act of taking memories with the offering of thanks, he introduces a core value of reciprocity that guides many characters’ actions. Another Anishinaabe central concept explored in the book is the communal nature of family (Indigenous Education Initiative. Anishinaabe Kinship Systems. 2026). Jamie illustrates this with a metaphor, contrasting the Western view of a nuclear family unit as “peas in a pod” with the Anishinaabe view: “Native families are like onions…each layer is protecting the next, down to its innermost core” (163). This idea of a layered, protective community reframes kinship beyond the nuclear unit, explaining why Daunis feels a duty to Lucy as Lily’s sister. Understanding these cultural tenets is essential for interpreting the characters’ spiritual journeys and their deep-seated motivations, which are driven by a sense of interconnectedness and communal obligation, as well as contextualizing the novel’s exploration of family.
Series Context: The Shared Universe of Angeline Boulley’s Novels
Sisters in the Wind functions as a companion novel to Angeline Boulley’s previous bestsellers, Firekeeper’s Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed, expanding upon the shared setting of the Anishinaabe communities of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. This interconnectedness is most evident in the return of Daunis Fontaine, the protagonist of Firekeeper’s Daughter, who serves as a central figure in Lucy’s story. Daunis’s presence and backstory is critical to the plot of Sisters in the Wind as Daunis recounts the traumatic events of the first novel, including her work as a confidential informant for the FBI, the meth investigation that tore her community apart, and the murder of her best friend, Lily, Lucy’s half-sister. This history directly explains Daunis’s fierce protectiveness of Lucy and clarifies her complicated, long-standing relationship with Jamie Johnson, who was an undercover agent in the original investigation. This world-building strategy is common in contemporary young adult literature, with authors like Leigh Bardugo creating interconnected “universes” where characters and settings reappear, creating a sense of recognition and interlinking themes. By revisiting this previously-established world in Sisters in the Wind, Boulley deepens her exploration of recurring themes such as tribal sovereignty, systemic injustice, community healing, and the complexities of Indigenous identity. For readers familiar with the previous books, Daunis’s return offers a continuation of her story from a new perspective. For new readers, it provides essential context that connects Lucy’s individual struggle to the series’s broader, ongoing narrative of resilience and justice in her community.
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