Sojourner Truth School for Social Change Leadership

The Medicine Wheel is an ancient system in indigenous culture that allows one to orient oneself in the universe. In this workshop, we will learn about the wheel, approaching it as a developmental tool to assess our relations with ourselves and each other.

The Center of the Medicine Wheel is the Children's Fire, our place of entry into this Earth Walk from the Spirit World. It takes four times nine months (or three years of our calendar) to complete the knowledge and teachings of the Children's Fire.

We will visit the eight houses of the Medicine Wheel, each of which takes three years to complete (4 x 9 months). It takes 27 years to complete one turn of the Medicine Wheel. After completing one turn of the Wheel, we return to the Children's Fire and begin the next turning. In Indigenous culture, upon full completion of the second turning, we are considered adults. The third round is the elder round. Completing it takes us to 81 years. Relatives we encounter on our Earth Walk are in different places on the Wheel, depending on their ages. What is stunning about the Medicine Wheel is the mapping and integration of the resources that we acquire as we move along the Wheel. Those who have experienced trauma in any of the houses along their first turn of the wheel can redo, undo, and transform anything that needs healing, both inside and outside themselves. This process continues throughout life. We will learn and share. Using the wisdom of the Medicine Wheel, our life journeys will highlight where we are now and provide guidance and support for our growth and decision-making. We will make a Medicine Wheel chart available to all participants.