Medicine wheel and Sweatlodge traditions form our version of an Old Testament.

The Medicine wheel predates European influences as do so many of our ancient and traditional practices. But since many of my Métis brothers and sisters and Indigenous cousins have grown up with the Christian faith, I felt I might have a perspective that could help eliminate the bind that many of us feel when pressured to choose between Christianity and the Old Traditions of our Indigenous ancestors. For my part as a Métis, I feel that forcing oneself to choose one faith or the other is a false and or unnecessary dilemma. I really love and honor many of the stories and teachings associated with Jesus as my Grandmother did, while at the same time the sacred ways of the Red Road have taken root in my heart. Since both of these beautiful traditions live in my person I have come to think of the Medicine wheel and Sweatlodge traditions as our version of the Old Testament. After all, from my point of view, isn't the Old Testament of the Bible rooted in the ancient story and sacred teachings of the Jewish people? I mean, I'm Métis with traditional ceremonial roots in the ancient Cree ways of the Northern Plains as well as the Christian way as practiced by Louis Riel, the Prophet of the New World.

I found an old Metis painting framed into an old church window (displayed on this page) stored in the Archives of La Société historique de Saint-Boniface. The subject of the painting depicts the three crosses associated with the crucifixion of Jesus along with an additional fourth cross representing the sacrifice on the gallows made by Louis Riel on behalf of the Métis people. Also included in this painting, below the four crosses, is the Medicine wheel which is represented by a metal ring with wire tied and configured to represent and indicate the four cardinal directions (East, South, West, and North) emanating from a center representing the creator of all things and the convergence of the Red Road (the Spiritual path) and Blue Road (the Material or Earthly path). The configuration is a centering and humanizing model of how to walk through life in balance. One foot on the spiritual path and the other foot on the material path. The Medicine Wheel is continually expanding to include all that exists. Therefore the spiritual teachings of Jesus and the leadership and example of Louis Riel are recognized as part of the ever unfolding universe, accepted and valid as such. "It is what it is" as they say.

Louis Riel was to have written about the equality of the two traditions (Christian and Red Road) and the need to respectfully recognize and provide for both in his vision of the New World. I will provide more on Mr. Riel's nuanced ideas regarding racial and religious equality in a separate page dedicated to Mr. Riel's vision.

To many of us the Medicine Wheel is a symbol that reminds us of who we are in relationship with all things. Our centering prayer is an affirmation and a reminder of a truth we seek to keep in the forefront of our minds as we live life: “All My Relations”. 

Try holding your breath for any length of time and you will know just how dependent and connected you are to the invisible that surrounds us at all times. We get thirsty, we get hungry, we need to sleep and we get lonely for companionship. But the need that defines us as human is the need to feel that our lives have meaning beyond base existence and survival.

To know and understand this “Need for Meaning” we must start by recognizing this need as part of our birthright, something that is actually part of the natural order, part of our unique purpose as Human Beings. 

The Medicine Wheel:

The Medicine Wheel can be thought of as a set of teachings from which we draw guidance on how to live a better life rooted in relationship with the world around us.

At first glance, the Medicine Wheel is a circle of stones with a center and four cardinal directions. The center represents the creator of all things, and the four cardinal directions that surround it.

East represents the direction of the sunrise and the direction of our birth into this world. It also represents our awakening as conscious beings. 

South represents the sun at its zenith and the abundance, fruitfulness and security that supports and nurtures the growth of young beings. South is also the direction of trust and innocence, both qualities that must be protected and valued if we are to maintain our humanity. 

West represents the place where the sun sets and is associated with introspection and self reflection. It is from this inward place that we take responsibility in life as adults and are moved to act (and even sacrifice) on behalf of others in need. 

North is the direction of the sun at rest, which is a time that allows us to step back from the struggles that often dominate our lives so that we can quietly recognize that there is much to be thankful for. In this quiet acceptance and state of gratitude we get our first glimpse of the expansive and inclusive nature of wisdom, which we seek to embody in our elder years.

What has been shared here is just a small part of what I have grown to understand of the Medicine Wheel. There are probably as many interpretations of what can be found in the wheel as there are people, and none of them are wrong. If we have different interpretations of what the Medicine Wheel has to offer it can be an opportunity for each of us to share our versions and grow our understanding of what is possible in this life. Aho, All My Relations

Suggested Reading

While I do not mean to imply that there is a how-to manual for selection and use of the traditional medicines, I do recognize that there are some written accounts and stories that can be helpful in reacquainting ourselves with fundamental truths that may have been lost for generations. I also feel that modern medicine has much to offer in regard to healing and seek to support the best use of those resources as well. With that said I have listed below some suggested reading that I have found helpful in addressing the issues related to my own Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

SEVEN ARROWS

By Hyemeyohsts Storm

Published 1981

This is a wonderful book that helps to expand our world view and challenge many of our learned self limiting assumptions about life.

Can be found at AbeBooks in used hardback https://www.abebooks.com

VICTIMS OF CRUELTY

Somatic Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

By Maryanna Eckberg

Forward by Peter Levine

Published 2000

This book has been very helpful in redefining PTSD as a condition that is rooted in our state of being and away from the focus on intrusive thoughts as the primary source of our emotional and mental pain. If this is a book that is interesting to you, please be advised that some of the source trauma events described by the author can be triggering for the reader. 

Can be found in used hard copy from https://www.abebooks.com

Indigenous Men and Masculinities: 

Legacies, Identities, Regeneration

Robert Alexander Innes (Editor), Kim Anderson (Editor)

Published 2015

What do we know of masculinities in non-patriarchal societies? Indigenous peoples of the Americas and beyond come from traditions of gender equity, complementarity, and the sacred feminine, concepts that were unimaginable and shocking to Euro-western peoples at contact. Indigenous Men and Masculinities, edited by Kim Anderson and Robert Alexander Innes, brings together prominent thinkers to explore the meaning of masculinities and being a man within such traditions, further examining the colonial disruption and imposition of patriarchy on Indigenous men. 

Can be found in paperback at https://uofmpress.ca/books/detail/indigenous-men-and-masculinities