Adopting a Child of a Different Race? Let’s Talk | Susan Devan Harness | TEDxMileHigh

Every year, thousands of children are adopted by parents of a different race—what we call “transracial adoption.” It can provide tremendous benefits, like a higher quality of living & a better education—but a significant psychological toll, too. In this courageous talk, American Indian adoptee Susan Devan Harness shares her own experience & some helpful lessons for prospective adoptive parents. Susan Devan Harness is an American Indian transracial adoptee and a member of the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes. Her extensive writing about American Indian assimilation policies & child placement includes Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption, a 2019 Colorado Book Award finalist. She holds an M.A. in Cultural Anthropology and an M.A. in Creative Nonfiction Writing, both from Colorado State University. She loves to travel and has visited all but four U.S. States. She was a seasonal interpretive park ranger with the National Park Service.