FARGO, N.D. (Dave Kolpack, AP) – Former Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan was enjoying the success of his fourth book when he found the subject of his next one waiting right on his Facebook page.
It was a message from Tamara DeMaris, who first caught Dorgan’s attention in 1990 after her teary-eyed portrait as a 5-year-old appeared along with a newspaper story on the abuse of foster home children on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.
Nearly three decades later, after finding a speech Dorgan gave about her, DeMaris contacted the senator from North Dakota and said she was ready to tell her story. It’s the focal point of his book “The Girl in the Photograph.”
The book ties DeMaris’ difficult journey to the struggles of Native Americans and offers possible solutions. Dorgan says it’s been a hard life but DeMaris has found some stability.
