The modern Medicine Wheel symbol was invented as a teaching tool in about 1972 by Charles Storm, aka Arthur C. Storm, writing under the name
Hyemeyohsts Storm, in his book Seven Arrows and further expanded upon in his book Lightningbolt.[1][2]: 5,168 It has since been used by various people to symbolize a variety of concepts, some based on
Native American religions, others newly invented and of more
New Age orientation.[2]: 5,7,181–183,187–189,193,218–219 [3]: 200 It is also a common symbol in some
pan-Indian and
twelve-step recovery groups.[4]
Subsequently
Vincent LaDuke (a
New Age spiritual leader going by the name Sun Bear), who was of
Ojibwe descent, started also using the Medicine Wheel symbol, combining the basic concept with pieces of disparate spiritual practices from various
Indigenous cultures, and adding elements of new age and
occult spiritualism. LaDuke self-published a newsletter and several books, and formed a group of followers that he named the Bear Tribe, of which he appointed himself the medicine chief. For a fee, his mostly wealthy and white followers attended his workshops and retreats, joined his "tribe", and could buy titles and honours that are traditionally reserved for respected elders and knowledge keepers.[1][5][7][4][10][11] For these activities LaDuke was denounced and picketed by the
American Indian Movement.[10]
Storm and LaDuke have been described as "
plastic medicine men".[10] They and others who have used the medicine wheel symbol to introduce their own ideas and concepts from other cultures into what they claim are Native American and
First Nations teachings have been accused by traditional Natives and activists of harming and displacing traditional teachings for financial motives.[10][12][1][13][14][15]
Symbolism
While some Indigenous groups that now use a version of the modern Medicine Wheel as a symbol have
syncretized it with traditional teachings from their specific
Native American or
First Nations culture, and these particular teachings may go back hundreds, if not thousands of years, critics assert that the
pan-Indian context it is usually placed in can too easily displace the unique, traditional teachings of sovereign tribes, bands and Nations, and in some cases even replace traditional ways with
new age, fraudulent ones.[4]
New Age writers tend to centre the idea of the medicine wheel as an individualistic tool of personal development, and use a stylized version with the circle divided into coloured quadrants, with various personal qualities assigned to the colours and quadrants. This redefinition is in stark contrast to the Indigenous view of ceremony and sacred sites being rooted in the community rather than the individual.[16]
Syncretism within the symbol
Many of the concepts introduced into the symbolism of the medicine wheel are arguably not pan-Indigenous and many are not grounded in traditional Indigenous worldviews, though many have to come to view them as such since the advent of the medicine wheel symbol. The typical medicine wheel symbol is divided into four quadrants, each with an associated set of qualities, characteristics, and concepts, with many of these coming from non-Indigenous sources and blended with New Age ideas.[2]
The concepts of the
four directions is not in accordance with many Indigenous worldviews that have six directions.[19][20] Moreover, Cheyenne Elders and religious leaders do not typically teach cosmology by referring to the cardinal directions, as Storm did in his book. Rather, they explain cosmology by starting with the vertical, going through the divisions starting with Otatavoom (the Blue Sky-Space) and going to Nasthoaman (the Deep Earth).[21][22] Moreover, the sacred cardinal directions in Cheyenne culture are closer to Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest, not the North, South, East, and West as described by Storm.[13]
Though some Indigenous North American cultures, such as the
Arapaho, view life as having four stages,[23] the
Anishinaabe view life as having seven stages (according to the Miikaans Teaching)[24][25] and the
Eastern Cree have five stages.[26]
Though some Indigenous nations have traditional beliefs about people with a different skin colour in their sacred stories, the division of humans into
four races is not traditional or universal, but is instead founded in
scientific racism and the racist views of early anthropology and biology, notably Carl Linnaeus' classifications as Americanus (red), Europeanus (white), Asiaticus (yellow), and Africanus (black).[27]
The concept of the divisions of the mind, heart/spirit, body, and soul derive from the Ancient Greeks and
Christian Neoplatonists.[28]
Some Indigenous nations divide the year into four
seasons, but the Cheyenne, which Storm based his book on, have six to eight seasons.[21] Furthermore, the
Gwich'in, the
Ojibwe, the
Cherokee, as well as nations in Virginia and most of the
Southeastern US view the year as having five seasons.[29][30][31] Some nations of the
Pacific Northwest Coast, such as the
Haida, divide the year into two seasons,[31] while the
Lakota and
Kiowa have four seasons of unequal length,[31][32] and the
Woodland Cree have six seasons.[33]
The concept of the year as a
wheel can be found in the
Wicca and
Modern paganism calendar known as the
Wheel of the Year, which was published prior to Storm's publishing of the modern Medicine Wheel symbol and concept.[34]
Words for things like "
Mother Earth" in Cree (okâwîmâwaskiy) are believed to be a contemporary concept from pan-Indigenous or new age influences because the word does not follow proper Cree grammar, and the classifications of
mineral,
plant,
animal, and
human does not fit into many Indigenous language structures.[35][36]
Not all Indigenous nations use the same sacred medicines, as
yucca,
mescal, and
peyote are also considered core sacred medicines by some nations, in addition to the more typically cited
sage,
cedar,
sweet grass, and
tobacco.[37] Furthermore, not all Indigenous nations use the four medicines, such as the
Coast Salish who traditionally did not use tobacco[38]: 27 , and some
Métis Elders who prefer tea and jam, and sometimes a blanket, to being offered tobacco.[39]
Storm has the colours out of order for Cheyenne teachings: East should be red instead of yellow, South should be green not red, and the four colours are white, red, green, and black.[22][40] Furthermore, the Cheyenne colours are not the vivid colours used by Storm, but rather earth tones.[13][41][40]
The association of animals, commonly listed as
bison,
bear,
wolf, and
deer, (listed as
buffalo,
eagle,
mouse, and bear in Storm's original description[41]) with the quadrants is an example of diluted
totemism.[2] In Cheyenne culture, which Storm claimed to base the teachings on, the animal associated with the North is the albino bison, and the dragonfly, vovetass, is associated with both the North and the South because it changes colour during the summer, from green to white.[22]
Though some of the concepts are founded in traditional Indigenous teachings, many are not and have resulted in confusion due to
misinformation.[4][11]: 141
Criticism of the medicine wheel
Maliseet (Wolastoqiyik) academic
Andrea Bear Nicholas argues that the broad adoption of the medicine wheel with little critical assessment and historical understanding of its fraudulent origins has effectively and almost totally displaced the unique oral traditions of many Indigenous nations. She views the medicine wheel as another example of ongoing colonial assault against Indigenous cultures, and has criticized academia for not doing more to protect traditional Indigenous cultures.[4]
Co-founder and former president of the American Indian Historical Society,
Rupert Costo, heavily criticized Storm's book Seven Arrows in which he introduced his medicine wheel concept, stating that Storm was "vulgarizing one of the most beautiful but least known religions of Man."[15]
"This book, Seven Arrows, will bring disgrace to Harper and Row.... Its content falsifies and desecrates the traditions and religion of the Northern Cheyenne, which it purports to describe. ... If he is indeed Indian (and the tribal chairman states, 'I don't know how he ever got on the rolls,') then shame on him for making a blasphemous travesty of the Cheyenne Way in Seven Arrows. The color plates are a solid disaster, in extremely poor taste, and in fact the end result desecrates the Cheyenne religion. ... The designs are actually blasphemous to Cheyenne religion, portraying Christian religious motifs in the worst possible manner, making a mockery of the religious beliefs and the theological systems of the people. ... There are so many irreligious and irreverent inaccuracies in this book.... to many Cheyenne people ... the reaction to Seven Arrows was disbelief and anger. It was ... based upon a falsification and desecration of Cheyenne beliefs and religion. ... The book is a White Man's interpretation of the Cheyenne. A reader searching for an understanding of the true beauty and profoundly moving religion of the Cheyenne people will not find it in this book. ...this author ... has no religious or secular status in the tribe."
The
Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council officially condemned Storm's book Seven Arrows, citing numerous inaccuracies, as did Cheyenne Elders such as Joe Little Coyote. The book's publisher,
Harper and Row, paid
US$7,500 in reparations (intended to be "all profits presently accrued to Seven Arrows as well as all future profits earned by it.") each to the Northern and Southern Cheyenne, and reclassified the book as fiction.[15][42][22]
"Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of Mr. Chuck Storm's book Seven Arrows is the fact that some of the beliefs which he presents in his book as having been derived from our spiritual ways are completely unfounded and extremely repugnant to the sensitivities of our people who are knowledgeable and qualified to speak about such things, not merely as the product of imagination, but as the result of actual lived experience."
In reviewing Storm's book Seven Arrows, anthropologist
John H. Moore criticized the book and how Storm inaccurately portrayed Cheyenne culture, skipping over important cultural details practised by Cheyenne cultural teachers, elevating minor elements of Cheyenne religion to undeserved major significance, dismissing cultural values, getting details mixed up, and adding things.
"Several books would be required to correct the compounded inaccuracies of Storm's version of Cheyenne tradition. The frustration of even attempting to do this has prompted a widespread outrage among religious Cheyennes. The Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council has condemned the book and asked that its use be discouraged. The calmest comment that I have received from a Cheyenne is from a member of the Tribal Council who described the book as 'complete B.S. from cover to cover.'"
Both Storm and LaDuke have been criticized for commercializing and distorting Indigenous spirituality, including the medicine wheel.[2]: 239 [11]: 13,15 [10]: 324 [3]: 200
Indigenous activists protested and distributed flyers at a lecture given by Storm in
San Francisco in February 1995, with the bold title "STOP EXPLOITING THE SACRED TRADITIONS OF AMERICAN INDIAN PEOPLE!!!", which began by saying:
We are members of the Bay Area American Indian community, and we are outraged by non-Indian wannabes and would-be gurus of 'the New Age' shamelessly exploiting and mocking our sacred religious traditions.... These sacred ways have enabled our people to survive five centuries of genocide. We will not allow these most sacred gifts to be desecrated and abused.... OUR SACRED SPIRITUAL PRACTICES ARE NOT FOR SALE, AND IF YOU TRY TO STEAL THEM FROM US, YOU ARE GUILTY OF SPIRITUAL GENOCIDE."[1]
The flyer distributed at Storm's San Francisco lecture was accompanied by a document titled "American Indian International Tribunal Elder’s Statement" that concluded with "Our young people are getting restless. They have said they will take care of those who are abusing our ceremonies and sacred objects in their own way."[1]
The Colorado chapter of the
American Indian Movement confronted Sun Bear during one of his $500/head weekend-long "spiritual retreat".[16]
Lakota leader Rick Williams has criticized
Sun Bear's eclectic use of combined elements from different tribes, saying it creates a dangerous spiritual imbalance. He argues that every part of different Indigenous cultures' traditions serves a specific purpose, and that mixing elements between cultures will not only lead to the purposes being distorted and lost, but can potentially endanger the practitioner.[10]
Anthropologist
Alice Keheo writes that Native medicine wheel rites, along with other Indigenous observance of the cyclical patterns in
nature and
life, are one of the reasons Natives are
stereotyped as
more spiritual than non-Natives.[3]: 195–196
Distortions of Indigenous culture, and thus identity, using things like Storm and LaDuke's medicine wheel, is criticized as 'killing off' real Indigenous cultures and displacing them by fictional Indigenous identities and cultures. The denial of agency in dismissing the concerns, wishes, and traditional cultures of Indigenous people through popularizing such works as Seven Arrows is criticized as continuing the indignity of desecrating, mocking and abusing Indigenous traditional ceremonies and spiritual practices.[12]
Ironically, as Bear Nicholas notes, objections and criticism about the medicine wheel symbol as a dangerous and false invented tradition are now condemned by many as disrespectful to tradition.[4]
Variations
Among users of the medicine wheel symbol, variations exist. The axes of the medicine wheel might also be rotated to be vertical. The quadrants can be rotated into a different arrangement and the order of the colours can be different, depending on the community. Meanings and associations with the colours also vary between nations.[43] Some
Anishinaabe communities add a circle in the centre, often coloured green, to represent balance.[44][45][46] The black quadrant is often replaced with a blue quadrant in some
Cree and
Ojibwe communities.[47][48]Métis occasionally add a circle with the
Métis flag or a green circle in the centre or use the symbol of a
Red River cart wheel overlaid on the medicine wheel.[49][50][51] Some versions of the medicine wheel consist of a hoop with two perpendicular axes connected to the hoop, and half of each axes and a connected quadrant of the hoop are coloured with the centre often left uncoloured.[52][53][54] Some Christian groups have incorporated the
Christian cross into the medicine wheel in a manner similar to the
Celtic cross.[55] In addition to the variations between Indigenous nations, there are also variations used within Indigenous nations, and not all Indigenous nations have adopted the medicine wheel, so care must be taken to not generalize.[56]
Gallery
These examples are not a definitive list of medicine wheel designs and this is not an exhaustive list of the variations that exist. Variations exist between and within Indigenous nations, and no one design represents all Indigenous nations. These are provided as examples only.
Variations in medicine wheel designs
Variant with a green centre used by some Anishinaabe communities.
A version of a medicine wheel used by some Métis people.
A version of a medicine wheel used in some Cree communities.
A version of a medicine wheel used by some Lakota people.
An artistic interpretation of the medicine wheel as described by Hyemeyohsts Storm in Seven Arrows.[41] Different descriptions of the medicine wheel are provided in his book Lightingbolt.[40]
^
abcdefgBear Nicholas, Andrea (April 2008). "The Assault on Aboriginal Oral Traditions: Past and Present". In Hulan, Renée; Eigenbrod, Renate (eds.). Aboriginal Oral Traditions: Theory, Practice, Ethics. Halifax, NS: Fernwood Pub Co Ltd. pp. 7–43.
ISBN9781552662670.
^
abcdefChurchill, Ward (21 September 2004). "Spiritual Hucksterism: The rise of the plastic medicine men". In
Harvey, Graham (ed.).
Shamanism: A Reader. London UK: Psychology Press. pp. 324–329.
ISBN9780415253291. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
^
abcdJaeger, Lowell (1980).
"Seven Arrows: Seven Years After". Studies in American Indian Literatures. 4 (2). Association for the Study of American Indian Literatures: 16–19. Archived from
the original on 4 July 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
^Cordova, Viola F (2007). Moore, Kathleen Dean; Peters, Kurt; Jojola, Ted; Lacy, Amber (eds.). How it is: the native American philosophy of V.F. Cordova. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
ISBN9780816526499.
^
abcHodge, Frederick Webb (1913). "Appendix to the Tenth Report of the Geographic Board of Canada". In White, James (ed.). Handbooks of Indians of Canada. Ottawa: C. H. Parmelee. pp. 72–73.
^Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies (29 April 2021).
"Calendars Then and Now". Lakota Times. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
^Glass, Justine (1965). Witchcraft, the Sixth Sense—and Us. London: Neville Spearman. p. 98.
^Goulet, Keith (2008). Brownstone, Arni (ed.). "Animate and inanimate: The Cree Nehinuw view". Material Histories: Proceedings of a Workshop Held at Marischal Museum. Aberdeen, UK: University of Aberdeen: 7–19.