Bitterroot. By Susan Devan Harness (University of Nebraska) When she was 2, Susan Devan Harness, a Salish Indian, was adopted by a white couple. Her birth mother was an alcoholic who didn’t bother to show up at a social services hearing, and so Susan was taken away. The idea was that she would turn into a white girl with all the advantages of the Anglo society. It didn’t turn out that way. Her adoptive father was an abusive alcoholic and bigot who ridiculed Indians. Her mother was loving but bipolar and unstable. Harness’ Indian looks made her an outcast in Montana’s often racist society. Growing up, Harness longed to find her Indian family. After years of searching, a social worker risked her job to give Harness access to her confidential file.