Roger Broer

American (born 1947)

Roger Broer (Oglala Lakota) creates expressive artworks and is mostly known for his monotype prints. He lives and works in South Dakota and is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Nation. For Broer, “If I couldn’t paint, I’d die. I live to make art.”

Broer was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He was removed from his Oglala Lakota mother, placed in an orphanage, and adopted at age two into a German-American family. After military service in the U.S. Air Force, he returned to South Dakota to spend time on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Broer used the G.I. bill to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from Eastern Montana College (now University of Montana, Billings) in 1972. He also pursued graduate work at Central Washington University in Ellensburg and lived for some time in King County. In 2025, he was awarded the South Dakota Governor’s Award in the Arts for Outstanding Creative Achievement. His artworks are in collections including the U.S. Department of Interior, the Aktá Lakota Museum in South Dakota, the Musée Pierre Cardin in France, and more.