Twin Spirit Tribe began with a vision that Co-Founder Elias Patras experienced while taking part in an apprenticeship program in Shamanic Studies with Rainbow Journeys, LLC, founded by Susan Lipshutz, LCSW and Dr. Tom Voitas. The program not only allowed Elias to come to understand the teachings of indigenous tribes but also to learn more about his own personal healing and how this could help other gay men on their own journeys towards empowerment. It was very apparent to Elias that this perspective could make a difference in the gay community and find common threads within the straight community.

Elias and his life partner Gary came to start a retreat weekend for gay men whose purpose was to focus on self-love, self-discovery and self-awareness. Prior to the retreat, Elias communicated with many gay men online discussing the retreat weekend and the vision of focusing on empowering ourselves and connecting to other gay men on an intimate yet non-sexual level. Over 200 men expressed interest in the retreat across the Midwest. In October of 2003 ReAwakenings Retreats was launched.

The men from that first retreat weekend met one month later to reconnect and talk about how things had changed and shifted for them due to the experiences and connections they made during the weekend. This then led Elias & Gary to continue meetings on a monthly basis to continue the wonderful bond that was made from the weekend. Some of the men have been meeting for almost 4 years now. After the most recent weekend retreat, several of the men were motivated to begin discussing how to make a difference on a bigger level. We decided to become a not for profit organization. We changed our name from ReAwakenings to Twin Spirit Tribe. That name reminds us of who we are and where we came from. Many gay men of indigenous cultures were called “twin spirit” or “berdache” because they held the balance of both masculine and feminine energy. Our “tribe” is a community like the tribes of old and reminds us that we are all connected. We can focus on our roots as gay men through camaraderie (community), ceremony (spirituality), and service (giving back to our community). By being of true "community" we can honor one another, gay and straight, acknowledge and respect our difference and celebrate our similarities.

We all have the same dream, the same vision, to make sure that other gay men do not feel like they are on their journey alone. There is strength in community which allows us to grow on all levels. Elias and Gary thank everyone who have been involved in Twin Spirit Tribe’s growth.

There are descriptions of two-spirited individuals having strong mystical powers. In one account, soldiers of a rival tribe begin to attack a group of women when they perceive that one of the women does not run away. They halt their attack and retreat after the two-spirit counters them, determining that the two-spirit will have great power which they will not be able to overcome.

Twin Spirits Defined Historically, Twin Spirits are individuals often viewed as having two spirits occupying one body. Two-spirited individuals perform specific social functions in their communities. In some tribes male-bodied two-spirits were active as healers or medicine persons, conveyers of oral traditions and songs, nurses during war expeditions, foretold the future, conferred lucky names on children or adults, wove, made pottery, made beadwork and quillwork, arranged marriages, made feather regalia for dances, special skills in games of chance, and fulfilled special functions in connection with the setting up of the central post for the Sun Dance. In some tribes female-bodied two-spirits typically took on roles such as chief, council, trader, hunter, trapper, fisher, warfare, raider, guides, peace missions, vision quests, prophets, and medicine persons.