32 Years of strengthening and preserving Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota cultures through the development of culture-based writing.
Who we are
Annual OSWS Tribal Writers Retreat - Lower Brule, South Dakota (2022)
The Oceti Sakowin Writers Society (OSWS) is a Native-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization composed of a membership based community of Native writers, scholars, educators, and cultural workers from a wide range of Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota (Oceti Sakowin) communities. OSWS exists to preserve, defend, and promote Oceti Sakowin literatures, oral traditions, and cultural narratives.
Our work is grounded in an affirmation of Indigenous political sovereignty and cultural self-determination. Through practice of literary production, research, critique, and community-based dissemination, OSWS cultivates deeper public understanding of Oceti Sakowin histories, lands, and lived realities.