Oyáte : Lakȟóta - Dakȟóta - Nakȟóna

Nothing quite points to the problem of 'forgiveness' in the Lakhota culture like the Lakhota word for this English term. The Lakhota word commonly used for this is based on the root 'ktų́ža.' It is preceded by the prefix 'é-'. This prefix is a combination, and contraction, of two other Lakhota prefixes: 'a-' + 'i-'. 'a-', in this case, refers to something being 'on (a surface)' and 'i-' which is relative to that point and means 'to arrive.' So, it's as if whatever is expressed refers to a relative location. The root '-ktų́ža' roughly means 'forget.' But, it means this in an interesting way. It implies a loss. Most losses are unintentional. They are accidents, at the least, for when is it ever beneficial to lose something like one's direction? Unless, maybe, it's to delay an inevitable and dreaded confrontation.
So, it seems that the Lakhota word for 'forgiveness' expresses a sense of becoming intentionally lost on a terrain, wherever that may exist: in a distant land or within one's heart. But the problem of becoming intentionally lost, in this sense, suggests a willful situation that is an impractical one because it requires a forgetfulness of one's purpose, goal or destination.
For the Lakhota, the solution for this predicatment was to not create a situation in which another had to intentionally undergo this process psychologically. For, when and if it harming another was unavoidable, the resolution of this act required the injured one to 'become lost' by forgiving -- and, thus, forgetting -- what had occurred. It's like denying that an actual event had not happened, despite all evidence to the contrary. The one placed in the situation of forgiving had to become intentionally lost, to forget oneself: to forget one's personal integrity and dignity. In this sense, forgiveness is an act of humility that necessarily deprives the one who forgives of a sense of personal value.
So, the next time a Lakhota intends to harm another in a way that would require forgiveness in order to reconcile oneself to the one harmed, it is wise to consider the burden that injury places in the path of the one so harmed. For the one so harmed, in order to proceed beyond the hurt, must intentionally deny their inherent sense of goodness and self-worth -- as well as becoming intentionally lost to themselves -- in order to rise above the harm.