Name Search
CTRL+K
Name Search
CTRL+K
Susan Harness presents in:
Keynote Topics
Susan Harness is the author of Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption and High Plains Book Award winner in the categories of Indigenous Writer and Creative Nonfiction. A member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, her interest in transracial adoption in general, and American Indian transracial adoption specifically, extends well beyond the academic. She has […]
Susan Harness is the author of Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption and High Plains Book Award winner in the categories of Indigenous Writer and Creative Nonfiction.
A member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, her interest in transracial adoption in general, and American Indian transracial adoption specifically, extends well beyond the academic. She has recently appeared on the TEDxMileHigh stage (Adopting a Child of a Different Race? Let’s Talk…), and interviewed by Ryan Warner of Colorado Public Radio, Corine Lesnes of Le Monde, Isaac Himmelman of HuffPost, and Rose Aguilar of KALW- San Francisco, as well as many others.
The issue of American Indian transracial adoption is beginning to receive a lot of scholarly attention, specifically from the perspective of the adoptee. Susan has been speaking on this topic since 1993. Academically, she has been presenting this information since 2006, as a panelist, a presenter, a lecturer, a keynote speaker and as a writer.
Most recently, Susan Harness worked with the Denver Indian Child Welfare Field Office of the Casey Family Foundation informing the people whose jobs determine then determining American Indian child welfare practices of the importance of Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.
Using her research and her personal story, Susan Harness will discuss the historical policies that have most affected American Indian families, their purpose to undermine Native society and culture, specifically the removal of American Indian children for placement into non-Native families.
Ms. Harness’s experience as a keynote speaker, invited conference speaker and panelist for dozens of organizations has raised awareness in the need for transracial adoption reform.
Born in Montana to a family living on the Flathead Indian Reservation, she became a transracial adoptee at the age of two when she was removed from her home by a social worker because of “neglect.” Bitterroot: A Memoir of Transracial Adoption (Released October 1, 2018 from University of Nebraska Press), is a sweeping examination of her life that explores the uneasy intersection of race, history and the brutal government American Indian policies that affect the lives of her and her families.
Bitterroot is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, as well as many other booksellers worldwide. Signed copies are available. To request, please fill out the contact form on this site. Also, Bitterroot will be coming out in paperback on March 1, 2020!
Susan Harness received her B.A. in anthropology from the University of Montana,her M.A. in cultural anthropology from Colorado State University in 2006, and her M.A. in creative nonfiction in 2016, also from Colorado State University.
She is the also author of Mixing Cultural Identities Through Transracial Adoption: After the Indian Adoption Project (1958-1967).
Susan Harness is still very much involved in the issue of American Indian transracial adoption and continues to write and speak nationally and internationally about this topic as well as about American Indian assimilation policies and practices.
Contact us at Speakers Inc and follow us on LinkedIn
Author Books | Magazine Covers
Latest status updates from Susan Harness, if you want to have all latest news then click the follow button.
You can then view all updates for your Newsfeed through your Dashboard on all those you follow.
Valerie Red-Horse, of Cherokee heritage, graduated cum laude from UCLA’s Theater Arts Department and further studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. She began her entertainment career with extensive television and film work as a leading actress. Valerie turned to writing, developing and producing in 1993. Her original screenplay, LOZEN, based on the life story […]
Gyasi Ross is an advocate for Native peoples in the fields of law, education, activism, literature and filmmaking. He has the unique ability to get people talking to one another, by presenting issues and topics in his signature forthright style, or by having the strength of character and intelligence to ask the difficult questions our […]
Gabrielle Sagalov (Scrimshaw) is an Indigenous professional with a passion for creating social impact. She has an MBA from Stanford and is a Gleitsman Fellow at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University. As the Public Sector Education Lead at Apple, Gabrielle supports education policy and strategic initiatives across K-12. Prior to Apple, Gabrielle […]
Chef Sean Sherman has dedicated his career to supporting and promoting Indigenous food systems and Native food sovereignty. Sean’s cooking style is based on pre-colonial Indigenous food systems, using only ingredients that are native to North America. His menus are inspired by the seasons and the land, featuring traditional ingredients like bison, hand-harvested wild rice, […]
Diane Humetewa is a member of the Hopi Indian Tribe located in northeastern Arizona. She was the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona from 2006 – 2009. She was the first Native American female to be presidentially appointed to that position, where she presided over one of the largest U.S. Attorney Offices with one […]
A Native American activist, Harvard-educated economist and author, Winona LaDuke has devoted her life to advocating for indigenous people’s rights and environmental justice. Combining economic and environmental approaches, she works to create a thriving and sustainable community for her own White Earth reservation and for Indigenous populations across the country. LaDuke attended Harvard University and […]
Se-ah-dom (Shoshone-Bannock, Nez Perce and Yakama) brings deep experience in community organizing for racial and social justice work across the nation. Prior to joining Seeding Justice, Se-ah-dom served as the Sovereignty Program Director at Western States Center where she was the coalition convener of Tribal History: Shared History (Senate Bill 13, 2017) in Oregon, which established and funded the […]
Dr. Lyla June Johnston (aka Lyla June) is an Indigenous musician, scholar, and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages. Her messages focus on Indigenous rights, supporting youth, traditional land stewardship practices and healing intergenerational and intercultural trauma. Her multi-genre presentation style has engaged audiences across the globe towards personal, collective and […]
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by Speakers Inc.
We are actively working to have our profiles current with Keynote Speech titles, and Summaries.
Some Speakers do not have a set title or summary for their topic lists. Instead they customize for each. Other speakers only do moderated conversations.
If you do not see content here, please contact us.
We also have ample information off line that we can share as some do not want to have visible profiles and as such these are hidden pages. Or in the event we do not have the information, we can contact the speaker to provide and share.
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2024. Speakers Inc
