Sarah Siembida has always been compelled to tell their story—since they were a child, they dreamed of sharing their experiences with the world. As a person whose experiences and opinions were often invalidated, they found an outlet in art and writing.
In 2022, Siembida released Memoirs of an Indian: A Guide to Surviving Colonialism, their debut poetry and short story collection. The book, written with the support of the Smart Waterloo Region Innovation Lab (SWRIL) features Siembida’s works written over several years. The writing is punctuated with art work by their friends and by their late uncle, making the book more of a communal effort.
“[T]his book [is] really a piece of me, given to the world. My book and giving that piece of myself to the world has been very cathartic and healing, in a lot of ways that I never even imagined could could happen,” Siembida said.
In Memoirs, Siembida shares stories of their childhood and experiences of abuse, sexual assault and loss that they experienced. Their story is interwoven with Indigenous stories—those of pain, resilience and survival. Siembida also includes diary entries and letters.
Siembida has always been attracted to stories and storytelling. As a child, they would run from their parents when they visited the St. Jacob’s Farmers’ Market—before the old one burned down—and find their way to a coffee shop where they learned spent time with Elders.
As someone of English, Finnish, Kānaka Maoli, Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw, and Polish descent, many of Siembida’s cultures place emphasis on storytelling.
“I’ve always been surrounded by storytelling. So I’ve always felt like even from that young age of five, I knew that there were so many stories that I was meant to carry, just within my blood memory, that it was going to help almost aid me in my experiences in this lifetime,” they said.
Poetry and prose fulfill different roles for Siembida. When writing poetry, they said they take a step away from their body, whereas short stories help them process parts of their life.
In the middle of their book, however, Siembida includes some journal entries that serve as a resting place for the reader. These were written at a time when Siembida was feeling lost, searching for rest and strength, shortly after their grandfather passed.
“I think, for me, the first half of this first book, that flow going from, like, the birth and into the journey, and kind of like, being halfway through that journey in the book, I wanted it to be that resting place, or almost like a portage…And you need like that resting place to just nurture yourself and prepare for the rest of the [journey],” they said.
People like their grandfather and their uncle helped guide Siembida. All their life, Siembida said people have silenced them, tried to offer unsolicited advice and fix them.
“[M]y whole life, all people ever told me is I’m too fat, too loud, too emotional, too passionate, too much of everything they don’t want me to be. They want me to be more of who they think I am, rather than supporting everything I want to be,” they said.
The second portion of the book is meant to be a guide to dealing with colonialism. In sharing their experiences with the community, Siembida creates space for others to feel represented and, in workshops they have led over the last few years, share their own experiences. Siembida strives to create safe spaces for Indigenous and queer folks.
“My healing, in my own journey has always been about finding and building my own safe space because I’ve never, I’ve never felt safe in a lot of my experiences and in a lot of my life,” they said.
For more information, visit @memoirsofanindian on Instagram.
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