Kurt Schweigman (Luke Warm Water) Papers

Kurt Schweigman is a Native American poet and writer. Born in 1965 and raised in Rapid City, South Dakota, he is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Nation. His academic background includes a B.A. in American Indian Studies from the University of North Dakota (1996) and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (2000). In addition to writing, his career has focused on Native American public health initiatives.

Though not formally educated in literature, Schweigman became a self-taught writer, beginning his literary career as a spoken word poet. He performed under the pseudonym Luke Warm Water from 1999 to 2017 before transitioning to publishing under his own name. His poetry, deeply rooted in contemporary indigenous experiences, gained attention and support from notable writers like Jimmy Santiago Baca, Adrian C. Louis, and performance artist James Luna.

Schweigman’s poetry career spans two and a half decades, during which he delivered well over 200 featured readings across the United States. He also toured England and Germany, and gave featured readings in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Baja Sur, Mexico, Geneva, Switzerland, and Rome, Italy. In May of 2026, he will attend a poetry festival in Venice, Italy as a featured reader. Although long retired from competition, his participation in Poetry Slam events saw him winning fourteen competitions from 1999 to 2010. He also published nine poetry chapbooks, a spoken word CD, and was featured in various literary journals and anthologies, including Shedding Skins: Four Sioux Poets (Michigan State University Press, 2008).

In addition to his literary achievements, Schweigman earned various grant awards, including the prestigious Archibald Bush Foundation Artist Fellowship in Literature in 2005, which made him the first spoken word poet to receive the literature grant. Through his poetry activities, he was also involved in supporting and fundraising for the freedom of American Indian political prisoner Leonard Peltier.

Schweigman co-edited Red Indian Road West: Native American Poetry from California (Scarlet Tanager Books, 2016) and collaborated on the animated short film Iktomi and the Food Stamp Incident (2005), which was screened at American Indian film festivals. He is currently researching and writing his debut novel, Sitting Bull in Rome, blending late 20th century historical fiction with a bridge to the 19th century. For the past several years, he has lived in Sonoma County, CA.

Submitted by Kurt Schweigman, January 2026