Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Records
Title
Oak Lake Writers' Society Records
Date(s)
- 1989-2016 (Creation)
Extent
2.94 linear feet [7 document cases]
Name of creator
Administrative history
In 1993, the Oak Lake Writer’s Society was founded by Charles Woodard, an English professor and Lowell Amiotte, an assistant professor in Counseling and Education. In the same year, the Oak Lake Writer’s Society held their first retreat at the Oak Lake Field Station.
Oak Lake is located roughly 23 miles northeast of Brookings and was once a camp for girl scouts. In 1988, the Department of Schools and Public Schools bought Oak Lake from the girl scouts and transferred the land to South Dakota State University. The Oak Lake Field Station is considered a multiuse facility that holds many activities including biology labs, bird watching, canoeing, club events, and Oak Lake Writer’s Society retreats.
The first Oak Lake Writer’s Society Retreat was titled “Storytelling and Storykeeping” and hosted guest speakers N. Scott Momaday, Pulitzer Prize winning author, and Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, a novelist and editor. The retreat serves three main purposes. First, it promotes interest in Oceti Sakowin literature. Second, it brings acclaimed Native American writers to the area. Third, it provides an opportunity for Oceti Sakowin people to improve and develop their writing skills. The Oak Lake Writers Society has continued to foster these three main purposes but has also gained another purpose of publishing society members' work. The Oak Lake Writer’s Society had since published three anthologies which are Woyake Kinikiya (1995), This Stretch of the River (2006), and He Sapa Woihanble (2011).
The Oak Lake Writers Society continues to hold retreats, but in 2021, the society became a nonprofit organization and was no longer tied to South Dakota State University.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This collection is composed of materials related to the Oak Lake Writers Society and their summer retreats. A large portion of the collection is email correspondence between Charles Woodard, a member of the English department as South Dakota State University, and applicants. Folders also contain newspaper clippings, application forms, written stories, and funding materials.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
This collection is open to researchers without restrictions. The materials in the Archives do not circulate and may be used in-house only.
Researchers conducting extensive research are asked to make an advance appointment to access archival material. Please call or e-mail prior to visiting the collection and indicate as much detail as possible about a particular topic and intended use.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
South Dakota State University supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted as a result of their fragile condition or by contractual agreements with donors.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Publications
- Renville, Florestine Kiyukanpi, and Oak Lake Writers' Society. We're Still Here : Oak Lake Writers 20th Anniversary Publication. 2013. Print.
Archives/Upper level: PS508.I5 W47 2013 - Howe, Craig Phillip., Kimberly. TallBear, and Oak Lake Writers' Society. This Stretch of the River. South Dakota]: Oak Lake Writers' Society, 2006. Print.
South Dakota Collection/Upper level: F592.4.T44 2003 - Woyake Kinikiya : A Tribal Model Literary Journal. (1994). Print.
South Dakota Collection/Upper level: PS508.I5 W69
Howe, Craig Phillip., Lydia Whirlwind Soldier, Lanniko L. Lee, and Oak Lake Writers' Society. He Sapa Woihanble : Black Hills Dream. St. Paul, Minn.: Living Justice, 2011. Print.
South Dakota Collection/Upper Level: E99.D1 H4 2011
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
Ask Us!
If you have questions or would like to schedule a visit, please let us know.
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Identifier
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Oak Lake Writers' Society (Subject)