About Us

Medicine Lodge Ranch is a health and natural medicine school, located in New Mexico's Santa Fe National Forest. We are a family company blending multi-generational wisdom of healers and teachers with the very best of what modern science has to offer, in an effort to empower individuals to take their health and wellness into their own hands.

Firm in our belief that medicine belongs to the people, we take inspiration from the indigenous belief in the medicine bear who, standing on two legs, brought medicine to our people. Through our online courses and and herbal intensives at our ranch, it is our intention to share this medicine and illuminate the innate ability to heal and take care of ourselves.

We invite you to take your health and happiness into your own hands by joining us on the medicine road.

Tieraona
Tieraona
Animal lover. Plant whisperer.
Science nerd.

With over 35 years in the field, Tieraona is an expert in the areas of integrative medicine, women's health, dietary supplements, and herbal medicine. And if you think that's impressive, just wait until you see her making her lotions and potions in the apothecary!

Tieraona is passionate about empowering people to take charge of their health and wellness, and she brings her knowledge, experience, and expertise to Medicine Lodge Academy. You can find her in her spare time playing in her gardens, riding her horse Kohana, and hiking her beautiful desert land with her husband Jim and two dogs.

Jim
Jim
Cornhuskers fanatic. Tech guru.
Ranch enthusiast.

Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, we think Jim is as salt of the earth as it gets. Though both of his parents were in the medical field, Jim took a different path and spent most of his life in the field of marketing and tech. That is, until he discovered his greatest passion - living the good ol' ranch life.

He brings his experience in technology and account management, and his big heart to Medicine Lodge Academy. You can find him in his spare time hiking the mountains with Tieraona and their two German shepherds, Joey and Jesse, and cheering on his hometown football team the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Kiara
Kiara
Forest child. Proud chicken mama. Glamper.

Kiara has spent her life intimately connected to holistic, integrative health and wellness. A home birth baby brought up in a world of herbalists, midwives, and shamans, her earliest roots were grounded in tradition and expansive in the curiosity of going deeper. After studying anthropology and world religion in college, she found many ways to collaborate with healers to spread the message of integrative health and wellness, before deciding to finally step into the healer's shoes herself. She has completed health nutrition coach training, recently graduated from an herbal program, and is currently studying medical astrology, She hopes to integrate her love of people, the plants, and the stars into her own unique tapestry of healing.

Mekoce
Mekoce
Language Master. Adventurer. Urban Gardener.

Though Mekoce has flown the coop to become an elementary school teacher in Washington DC, you can still see the amazing contributions he’s given to Medicine Lodge Academy in our videos, which he edited with great love and care.

In his spare time, you can find him making homemade pizza and gelato, scuba diving, and jet setting to a foreign country to practice one of the several languages he speaks.

Joey & Jesse
Bone Enthusiasts. Mountaineers. Late-Night Barkers.

These two are the hairy, four-legged members of our family, and life just wouldn’t be the same without them. Though we lived here first, they generously let us live in their kingdom as long as Jim keeps the fresh, lightly cooked meals coming!

In their spare time, which is most of the time, you can find them snoring and chasing bunnies in their dreams, gnawing on bone marrow, and tearing up and down the sides of mountains.