Wakaya Wells is a Two-Spirit Choctaw citizen 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 received their BA in Native American Studies from Dartmouth College and their MFA in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts, where they were a Truman Capote Scholar. Wakaya's work has been featured in The Massachusetts Review, The Rumpus, Men Matters Online Journal, Chapter House Journal, The Tiger Moth Review, The Healing Muse, and Blue Earth Review where they won the 2025 BIPOC Emerging Writer Award. They live in New Hope, Minnesota with their wife Sara and son Taloa.