From Exile to Global Recognition — How a Diaspora Institution Reclaimed a People’s History

By Dhabessa Wakjira

The year was 1986. In meeting rooms scattered across the diaspora, in the United States and Europe, a small group of Oromo and non-Oromo scholars gathered with a radical idea . They would build an independent academic home for the study of a people whose history, culture, and very existence had been systematically erased from mainstream scholarship. They would create a space where knowledge about the Oromo could be produced not by outsiders, but on its own terms.

They called it the Oromo Studies Association .

Four decades later, that audacious dream has become something far greater than its founders could have imagined. As the OSA marks its 40th anniversary in 2026, it stands as a global scholarly community spanning continents and disciplines—a testament to the power of knowledge as a form of justice.

The Birth of a Movement: Founding in Exile

The OSA was not born in a vacuum. It was founded in direct response to a crackdown that had led to those campaigning for greater recognition of the Oromo people being murdered, tortured, jailed, or driven out of the country. The founding was a response to a void—a void in which Oromo heritage was not merely absent from academia and state narratives but actively suppressed.

Under successive Ethiopian regimes, the Oromo—despite being the largest ethnolinguistic group in Ethiopia, numbering over 40 million people across the Horn of Africa—were systematically marginalized. They were deprived of their expropriated lands, their freedom through enslavement, their identity, and even the right to speak their own language. In Ethiopia, the history of the Oromo people was effectively written out of the national narrative.

Among the founders was Sisai Ibssa, a scholar-activist whose intellectual journey shaped the trajectory of Oromo studies for decades. Reflecting on the early days, one founding figure recalled attending an international Oromo conference in Berlin in 1984—”It was then that we started to think about organizing an Oromo studies association. A few years later, OSA was formally organized” .

Another towering figure was Professor Asmarom Legesse, whose landmark work Gada: Three Approaches to the Study of African Society (1973) brought the Oromo democratic system to international scholarly attention. Legesse passed away on January 31, 2026, just weeks before OSA’s 40th anniversary year—a loss deeply felt by the community he helped build.

A Full Gadaa Cycle: 40 Years of Scholarship

In Oromo tradition, the Gadaa system operates on eight-year cycles, with a full generational transition spanning forty years. This year’s anniversary is therefore not merely a milestone—it is a symbolic completion of a full Gadaa cycle, representing generational renewal, continuity, and the orderly transfer of knowledge and responsibility.

The OSA’s work over these four decades has been nothing short of transformative:

Before OSA, Oromo heritage was systematically erased. The Oromo language, Afaan Oromoo—the third most widely spoken language in Africa—was banned in schools and public life until 1992, and students were punished for speaking it or using Oromo names. A state ideology of “Ethiopianism” promoted Orthodox Christianity, the Amharic language, and Abyssinian culture as the sole legitimate national identity.

After four decades of OSA scholarship, the Oromo Gadaa system—a millennia-old democratic governance structure based on generational age sets, egalitarian principles, and rotating leadership—has been recognized by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity . Oromo studies is now a respected field in global academia. And the Journal of Oromo Studies, launched in 1993, has been indexed in Scopus—one of the world’s most prestigious academic databases.

The Journal of Oromo Studies: A Dream Come True

When the first issue of the Journal of Oromo Studies rolled off the presses in the summer of 1993, it was described as “a dream come true” . For scholars who had labored in obscurity, publishing in venues that often dismissed or distorted Oromo realities, the Journal offered something revolutionary: a platform where Oromo scholarship could stand on its own.

The first volume featured foundational essays by scholars like Asafa Jalata, whose work on “The Oromo, Change and Continuity in Ethiopian Politics” helped define the contours of a new field . Over the decades that followed, the Journal would publish research on everything from the Gadaa system to diaspora studies, from economic development to cultural preservation, from historical linguistics to contemporary politics.

Now fully open-access, the Journal publishes articles, research notes, and scholarly book reviews in both English and Afaan Oromoo, welcoming contributions from emerging and established scholars alike . The Journal’s entire archive—decades of scholarship—is now posted to the OSA website, making it available to anyone with an internet connection.

In June 2026, Scopus announced the addition of 242 new journals to its prestigious index. Among them was the Journal of Oromo Studies. For those unfamiliar with the world of academic publishing, Scopus indexing is the gold standard. It places JOS alongside publications from Springer, Elsevier, Wiley, and Cambridge University Press.

As Bonnie Holcomb, the Journal’s Editor-in-Chief, wrote to contributors and advisors: “This publication, and the indexing in Scopus, are notable achievements, all. We have come a long way together” .

Reclaiming Oromummaa: The Core of the Mission

Central to OSA’s four-decade effort is the concept of Oromummaa—a term embodying the collective values, institutions, and worldview of the Oromo people. Once dismissed, Oromummaa has been meticulously restored by OSA scholars through research that has redrawn the map of Horn of Africa studies.

The OSA’s scholarship has focused on three core institutions of Oromo indigenous democracy:

1. The Gadaa System: A complex socio-political system featuring an eight-year leadership cycle, checks and balances, and principles of accountability and rule of law. Its global significance was recognized by UNESCO in 2016.
2. Siinqee (Siiqee): A women’s institution that ensures gender balance and social justice .
3. The Qaalluu: The spiritual authority maintaining harmony between society, nature, and the spiritual realm.

Together, these institutions embody values of democracy, peace (nagaa), and ecological stewardship that OSA argues offer lessons of “global relevance”.

Breaking the Silence: OSA in the Diaspora

For many years, the OSA could not hold its annual meetings on home ground. Meetings were held in the diaspora, usually in the United States. The Association promoted research and scholarship across the full range of Oromo studies, but the doors of Ethiopia remained closed.

Under successive regimes, protesting Oromo people were increasingly subject to widespread repression, arbitrary arrests, detention without charge, enforced disappearance, torture, and even death . Like all authoritarian regimes, the authorities sought to silence protesters, initially targeting intellectuals, journalists, and students. All exiles, international commentators, media representatives, and human rights movements were denied entry to the country—including the OSA.

The most significant change came in 2018 with the election of Dr. Abiy Ahmed, himself an Oromo, to the position of Prime Minister of Ethiopia. As one scholar observed: “He opened the doors of Ethiopia to the Oromo in exile, some of whom had not seen their homeland for 40 years or more, and whose children had never been allowed to set foot on Ethiopian soil“. Even the Oromo Liberation Front operatives were given the green light to fly back into the country.

The 2026 Conference: Honoring the Past, Investing in the Future

The OSA’s 40th Annual Conference, themed “Oromo on the Global Landscape: Honoring Asmarom Legesse as OSA Turns 40,” will be held July 31 – August 2, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota .

The conference will bring together scholars, researchers, students, and community members from across the diaspora and the continent for three days of panels, roundtables, keynote addresses, and community dialogue . It will feature diaspora-connected parallel panels abroad, reflecting the conference’s commitment to centring Oromo communities wherever they are.

An opening night celebration will be held on Friday evening, July 31, at the Oromo Community Centre in Saint Paul—an evening of inspiration, culture, and community, featuring video greetings from former OSA presidents, cultural dance performances, live cultural music, and a delicious meal catered by Dilla Restaurant.

Challenges and the Road Ahead

This hard-won scholarly recognition is not without its challenges. The OSA has warned of “renewed attacks on Oromo scholars and scholarship” from actors seeking to “restore inequitable power relations” . These attacks have evolved from formal complaints accusing scholars of “hate speech” to coordinated social media campaigns that vilify Oromummaa itself as a dangerous ideology.

The OSA’s statement declares: “These attacks do not represent scholarly debate grounded in evidence. Rather, they reflect a politicized rejection of any scholarship that challenges centralized authoritarian narratives” . It draws a stark warning: “History demonstrates that vilification of a people’s identity is often a precursor to mass violence”.

Despite these challenges, the OSA remains committed to its mission. As the Association’s “Who We Are” page states: “We believe that knowledge is a form of justice“.

Conclusion: A Legacy Worth Celebrating

Forty years ago, a small group of exiled scholars dared to imagine a world in which Oromo knowledge was recognized as a contribution to the full breadth of human civilization. Today, that vision is reality .

The Journal of Oromo Studies, indexed in Scopus, stands as a monument to their courage and their persistence. The annual conference, now in its 40th year, brings together a global community of scholars and advocates. The website, with its full open-access archive, makes decades of scholarship available to anyone with an internet connection.

As Bonnie Holcomb wrote, with warmth that reflects decades of dedication: “Congratulations, one and all“.

The celebration is earned. The legacy is enduring. And the work continues.

The 40th Annual Conference of the Oromo Studies Association
July 31 – August 2, 2026
Augsburg University, Hagfors Center
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Details at www.oromostudies.org

Injifannoon Ummata Oromoo!

OSA haa jabaattu!

Four decades of scholarship, community, and the enduring pursuit of justice for the Oromo people.