Harness's search for answers revolved around her need to ascertain why she was the target of racist remarks and why she seemed always to be on the outside looking in

despite his misgivings about how it has come to be a part of his life through the colonial process

Stella Pretty Sounding Flute and Lola Columbus (Dakota) and Celane Not Help Him and Cecelia Hernandez Montgomery (Lakota) share recollections of early family life interrupted by years at government boarding schools designed to eradicate tribal culture

and sovereignty that have taken generations to ratify may be seriously—and permanently—undermined

I Am Not a Number women Harness's search for answers revolvedWhen Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school, she is confused, frightened and terribly homesick. She tries to remember who she is and where she came from despite being told to do otherwise. When she goes home for summer holidays, her parents decide never to send her away again, but where will she hide and what will happen when her parents disobey the law?