  Dark matter annihilation in dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies near the Milky
Way has the potential to produce a detectable signature in gamma-rays. The
amplitude of this signal depends on the dark matter density in a dSph, the dark
matter particle mass, the number of photons produced in an annihilation, and
the possibly velocity-dependent dark matter annihilation cross section. We
argue that if the amplitude of the annihilation signal from multiple dSphs can
be measured, it is possible to determine the velocity-dependence of the
annihilation cross section. However, we show that doing so will require
improved constraints on the dSph density profiles, including control of
possible sources of systematic uncertainty. Making reasonable assumptions about
future improvements, we make forecasts for the ability of current and future
experiments -- including Fermi, CTA and AMEGO -- to constrain the dark matter
annihilation velocity dependence.
