Harness to read essay on experiences at transracial adoptees

Press release

Susan Devan Harness, lecturer, writer and field director of the Tri-Ethnic Center for Prevention Research at Colorado State University, will be reading her essay "Lifescapes and Landmines of American Indian Transracial Adoption: A Personal Story" at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Vande Bogart Library on the Montana State University-Northern campus.

In the essay, Harness reflects upon her experiences growing up as an Indian child adopted into a Caucasian family. The essay is a forthright, challenging testimony to Harness' efforts at formation of self in an atmosphere of intercultural and interracial tensions, made more difficult by the ambiguity of her connection with her adoptive family.

Across Montana and all of America, minorities have long been disproportionally represented in child protection system, a trend which - though mitigated in recent years - continues today. As Montanans work toward a more inclusive and accepting society, voices like Harness' serve as a useful reference point of where we have been, how far we have come, and how far we still need to go.

The event, co-hosted by CASA and Northern's departments of Native American and Graduate Studies, is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend. The reading will be followed by about 30 minutes of question-and-answer and discussion.

For more information about the event, contact Mark Douglass at [email protected] or 406-399-4519.