Aspects of Life – Thoughts and Conversations
It’s been a while since I’ve written a post, mainly because I’ve been meeting deadlines! Here are some events to keep in mind, if you like YA books, are interested in conversations of historical connections, or like podcasts that reveal the inside experiences of a person (me). Today (First, my YA fiction story, “Shawl Dance”, […]
This first appeared in Gazillion Voices, November 2014, Issue 16 Recently, after giving a presentation on American Indian Transracial adoption, I was asked a question. “Where do you think you’d be now if you hadn’t been adopted?” Without pausing, the man who asked the question answered for me. “I bet you wouldn’t be giving presentations […]
The Land of Gazillion Adoptees podcast conversation with Susan Harness, author of “Mixing Cultural Identities through Transracial Adoption: Outcomes of the Indian Adoption Project” We had this podcast conversation with Susan Harness right before LGA went on its little hiatus. So, yeah. It’s about a month old. However, it’s far from being dated. Take a […]
Even in third grade, Susan Devan Harness knew she didn’t belong in the white world. She already was being called “squaw girl” by classmates. Harness drew suspicious stares and was followed by employees every time she entered a store in the Montana town where she was raised. But it wasn’t until she was 14 that […]
Interview with Tara Gatewood at NativeAmericaCalling.com Adoption is a part of the storyline of many Native families and individuals. As one Native author who experienced adoption first hand writes, there is power in identity. Many Native adoptees are adopted out of their culture and are raised in another. For some, the journey back home can […]
Susan Devan Harness is an American Indian transracial adoptee. This identity is unique in that it is situated in a very specific time and place in American Indian history. Unlike other transracial/transnational adoptions, American Indian children were adopted through colonization and assimilation practices on home soil, creating tensions of race and culture. Running from 1958 […]
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – American Indian trans-racial adoptees often find themselves at the intersection of belonging and not belonging in today’s society. Colorado State University cultural anthropologist Susan Harness explored issues of ethnic belonging, social hierarchy and social memory and their impact on adult American Indian trans-racial adoptees – like herself – who were adopted […]