Understanding the Sacredness of Tiospaya and the Importance of Knowing Heritage

Tiospaya - Lakota concept of extended family, blood relatives, adopted members, close friends, social structure, governance, and identity that emphasizes mutual support and shared responsibility. This can be understood as raising a child in harmony with values such as generosity and respect.

Mitakuya Oyasin (All my relations in Lakota language).

Unsikichis, Okichiya Unpo (love each other and help each other).

The Tiospaya concept brings back an ancient and sacred message in our DNA for living a happy life. One that emphasizes the true need for family. Understanding one’s self-worth and value, we bring this to our family, which changes our very nature, drawing us closer to loved ones.

The Lakota cultural approach moves us away from modern treatment modalities focused on medical objectives rooted in illness, sickness, or dysfunction. We take the position that the great majority of our people are not ill, sick, or dysfunctional, as we generally believed. Therefore, working with our Relatives using the Tiospaya concept is helping us to heal.

Horses, Sunka Wankan, have been beside us for years. They know things about us that we don’t know about or try to hide. We work with horses to connect with people. The pain is what connects us all.

The horse has four sides of life to them:

Right shoulder is infant Right hind is adolescent Tail is the rights of passage Left hind is the adult Left shoulder is the elder

By moving them in the round pen, a horse will mirror the person in the middle. Each person has a set of troubles, trials, and tragedies, such as illness, injury, social and emotional challenges, divorce, or death, to name a few.

Service towards others is the best way to heal. Help one another, watch over one another, and comfort one another. That time is to get reacquainted with the Creator. Sacrifice is a higher level of service. Giving up something to help someone else.

Sometimes we don’t want to heal because the pain is the connection to what we have lost.

Lakota cultural Native American wisdom-keeper, Douglas Widow Jr. (Cheyenne River Sioux), will be working with horses to facilitate healing at a two-day retreat in West Linn, Oregon.

This retreat will be greatly beneficial and healing for those who would like to be better aligned and balanced with their left/right brain neurophysiology, the ancestors, the healing energies of the Earth, and overall spiritual, mental, psychological, and physical well-being.

This will also be of great benefit for you if you are, or are close to any individuals, groups, and/or families experiencing trauma, grieving, substance abuse and dependence, veterans, mental health disabilities, PTSD, Native/Indigenous peoples, and most importantly, at-risk youth.

Retreat Includes:

• Educational workshop on Lakota cultural and spiritual healing foundations

• Preparatory tools and practices for horse therapy experience

• Lakota oral tradition storytelling and guided imagery 

• Individual therapeutic healing experience with horses

• Creative integration practices for emotional and spiritual release

• Community talking circle for reflective processing

Saturday and Sunday, July 25th - 26th, 2026 -Radiant Heart Farm, West Linn, Oregon