Mission
The Oceti Sakowin Writers Society organizes literary efforts for the purposes of preserving and defending Oceti Sakowin (Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota) cultures, oral traditions, and histories; to reaffirm our peoples’ political statuses; and to regulate and transform representations of such that are inaccurate and damaging.
To those ends, we create, research, review, publish, present, and promote works in various genres in a manner that will bring about a greater understanding of our cultures, legacies, and lands.
Our Origin Story
The Oceti Sakowin Writers Society (OSWS) began in 1993 at South Dakota State University as the Oak Lake Writers Society, founded by Dakota writer Elizabeth Cook-Lynn and Professors Charles Woodard and Lowell Amiotte. For more than three decades, OSWS has created spaces for Native writers to strengthen their craft, exchange knowledge, and advance Native literary and intellectual sovereignty.
The Annual Tribal Writers Retreat remains at the heart of this work, bringing writers together for literary inquiry, cultural exchange, and community. Over the years, the retreat has helped nurture generations of Native writers and contributed to a growing body of published Indigenous literature. Beyond the retreat, OSWS promotes Oceti Sakowin literature, mentors emerging writers, and develops resources that support cultural and narrative reclamation.