Land Acknowledgement #1

Wakaya Wells (Minnesota-Oklahoma, USA)

Wakaya Wells is a Two-Spirit Choctaw raised in District 8 of the Choctaw Nation of  Oklahoma. Wakaya first discovered poetry while growing up in a Southern Baptist church, navigating the complexities of being Queer and Indigenous in the Bible Belt. Their writing has consistently emerged from a foundation of healing, community, and growth. Wakaya’s work has been featured in The Massachusetts Review, The Rumpus, This Land Press, Men Matters, Chapter House, The Healing Muse, and Blue Earth Review where they won the 2025 BIPOC Emerging Writer Award.