Indigenous
About Darla
I am part white and part Indigenous, an author, a watercolorist, and a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation in Montana.
My dad hated Indians but married a Native American, and my mom hated white men but married a white man. It made for a real interestin’ time. Mom used to tell me about a reservation girl who "ran off and married a white man," and I’d reply, "Mom, I ran off and married a white man. What do you think of that?" She moved her hands in an arc as if to protect herself from my question, never answering.
When I started penning my memoir, I thought it would be an entertaining collection of short stories about growing up on a reservation with my prankster sister, Nancy. But I realized that being bi-racial was worth exploring.
Searching my Uncle David’s research, I discovered more about myself than I could ever imagine. Going back to the 1800s, I realized how much of the past is part of the present, and it gave me a better understanding of myself.
And it helped me reclaim the rich Native heritage that had been denied to me as a child.
more about darla
I never caught a robin as a child in the northern Rocky Mountains. But I never stopped trying to sneak behind the red-chested bird, my dirty feet silent against the earth. Robins fly away at the last second, wings flapping, as if saying, “You can’t catch me.”
But I teach my grandson the best ways to catch a robin is by being sill. and I tell him, “Don’t give up. Never, ever give up. Someday, you’ll catch that robin.”
BOOKS
The Moon Loves Me
Seeking Representation
Navigating my Séliš (Salish) mother’s heritage and my white father’s world became more complicated when my father told me, “You’re not Indian enough.” He erased my heritage with a single sentence.
When he married a woman who hated Indians, I learned that silence was safety. That silence became a prison that took a lifetime to overcome.
Life on the Rez
Available on Amazon
"When silence protects secrecy, it erases who we are."
––Darla Clement
A science fiction and fantasy anthology inspired by life on America’s Native reservations that challenges what it means to maintain one’s humanity in the face of change.