Intro to the Medicine Wheel Approach

 

 

Throughout human history, symbols have been cornerstones of

culture. They express a particular meaning, idea, fact, belief, or

history that is shared by a certain group of people. They help

to define important aspects of a particular culture and help us

to retain ancient knowledge from our ancestors. One of the

ancient symbols used by many Indigenous Peoples throughout

the Western Hemisphere is the Medicine Wheel, which expresses

the interrelationship of all living things: the four grandfathers; the

four winds; the four cardinal directions; the four elements (fire,

water, earth, and air); the four stages of life; the four beings of

the heavens (sun, moon, clouds, and stars); the four seasons; the

four potentialities of human growth and development; the four

dimensions of the plant (roots, stem, leaves, and fruit); and many

other relationships of quaternary. Just as a mirror can be used to

see things not readily visible, such as objects behind us or around

a corner, the Medicine Wheel can help us to see or understand

things that we can’t quite recognize or comprehend because

they are ideas rather than physical objects. Most importantly, the

Medicine Wheel teaches us how to walk in balance with ourselves

and others around us.

 

Currently, contemporary mainstream society is living in an

unbalanced state. Just look at where we place our values:

materialism, overconsumption, and physical appearance. Our

value or success as human beings is measured by our personal

belongings and the amount of money we make. This is very

different from the way our Indigenous ancestors lived; success

was measured by kindness and compassion for fellow human

beings. They recognized the interconnectedness of all living

things, and the ultimate goal in life was to be a good relative and

a productive member of the community. In many Indigenous

cultures the concept of individualism—of I, me, or mine—did

not exist.

 

Our Indigenous ancestors recognized that we are here for only

a brief period of time and our spirit, which represents our

characteristics as a human being, is the only thing we take with us

to the next world. The longest journey in life is not a trip around

the world; it’s the journey from our head to our heart.

Our ancestors prophesized about a long period of spiritual

wintertime. The Lakota Nation share the prophecy of the slaying

of the White Buffalo. The Anishanabe prophesized the Eighth Fire.

The Mohawks, along with many other Indigenous Peoples, share

the prophecy of the Seventh Generation. Each prophecy speaks

of a time when the Indigenous way of life would be threatened

and would face a great challenge. Indigenous Peoples would no

longer be able to speak their languages, embrace their cultures,

and practise their ceremonies. Our four-legged brothers and

sisters, as well as Mother Earth would be mistreated and taken

advantage of to the point of near extinction.

 

The arrival of European settlers to the Americas 500 years ago

and the wrath of colonization marked the long wintertime that

the ancestors spoke of. It was said that after seven generations

of tremendous persecution and attempts at cultural genocide,

humanity would wake up and start recognizing that human beings

are more similar than they are different. In order for us to survive,

we needed to begin looking at all elements of life and stages

of our development as human beings: the physical, emotional,

mental, and spiritual. We needed to remember the strength

and heart of our ancestors, as well as their perseverance and

determination to keep our cultures alive. The young people now

coming into the world are the Seventh Generation. We are finally

able to have more space to practise our cultures and to speak our

languages, thanks to the path that our ancestors laid for us. An

example of this change is the grassroots movement Idle No More,

where Indigenous Peoples from all over the world came together

with one voice as a collective nation.