This story takes place in 1976 and is told from the point of view of Doobie Buckman. An Indigenous American from a reservation referred to as the “Rez,” Doobie is a student starting seventh grade. In earlier grades, he attended school with other children from the Rez but now is in a large public junior high school in which most students are white.

To Doobie’s disappointment, one of his friends from elementary school, Hayley, shows up on the first day of school looking completely different. She’s covered in makeup and has died her hair purple to appear more “white.” Doobie notes that this is a common practice for children from the Rez, who change their appearance to fit in once they move to middle school. Because of his physical “Indian” features, however, Doobie is unable to do so. Although they don’t speak at school, Hayley talks to him on the bus when no other students are around and explains that she hopes to get into the BOCES cosmetology program and has been practicing on a Barbie head.

As the weeks pass, Hayley’s “Rez Amnesia” continues, and she pretends not to know Doobie except on the bus and in private at school.