Medicine Wheel Teachings: A Treaty 6 Cree Perspective on Balance

Short answer: there is no single Medicine Wheel chart whose colors, directions and meanings apply to every Indigenous Nation. Medicine Wheel and four-directions teachings vary among Nations, communities, families and knowledge holders.

First-person source: In this public introduction, Patrick Mitsuing of Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation shares a Treaty 6 Cree perspective as he has learned and used it for personal reflection and education. It is not presented as the only Cree teaching or as a universal Indigenous belief.

This page discusses public educational ideas only. It does not provide ceremonial instructions, medicine protocols, prayers, fasting guidance or restricted knowledge.

What is a Medicine Wheel?

A circle divided or understood through four directions is used in different ways by many Indigenous peoples. Depending on the community and context, a wheel or sacred hoop may be connected with land, relationships, seasons, stages of life, health, responsibility, ceremony or balance.

The U.S. National Park Service explains that Medicine Wheel colors and their arrangement vary among Tribal customs. That variation is central to understanding the subject. A diagram found in one book, classroom or organization should not automatically be labelled the traditional meaning for all Native American or First Nations people.

Patrick Mitsuing’s Treaty 6 Cree perspective

Patrick learned to use the circle as a reminder that parts of life affect one another. In the public framework he shares, a person can reflect on four connected areas:

• Physical: How are you caring for your body, rest, movement and daily needs?
• Emotional: Are you recognizing feelings and expressing them in healthy ways?
• Mental: Are you learning, thinking, paying attention and keeping your mind active?
• Spiritual: How are you maintaining meaning, values, relationships and responsibilities in the way appropriate to you?

The purpose is not to score each section or diagnose a person. It is to notice where attention may be needed. For Patrick, balance does not mean every part of life is perfect or equal at every moment. It means remembering that neglect in one area can affect the others.

A separate public teaching from Jeff Ward of Membertou First Nation

The following video features Jeff Ward of Membertou First Nation sharing a public Medicine Wheel teaching. His teaching comes from his own knowledge and community context and should be attributed to him, not folded into a generic pan-Indigenous explanation.

Do the four directions always have the same meanings?

No. A direction may be connected with different colors, seasons, life stages, beings, responsibilities or teachings depending on who is sharing it. Even within one Nation, knowledge holders may teach different arrangements.

This is why Powwow Times does not publish a universal key saying that east, south, west and north must always equal one particular color or meaning. When using a diagram, name the Nation, community, educator or source responsible for that version.

Are the four colors four races?

Some modern diagrams assign white, yellow, red and black to racial categories. Powwow Times does not present that interpretation as an ancient or universal Indigenous teaching. Race-color charts can flatten diverse peoples into stereotypes and often circulate without a named Nation or knowledge holder.

If a particular educator publicly shares that interpretation, it should be attributed to that person and context rather than presented as what “the Medicine Wheel” means everywhere.

Are cedar, tobacco, sage and sweetgrass universal?

No single list of four plants or medicines applies to every Indigenous Nation. Plant relationships depend on territory, language, ecology, law, family and community protocol. A generic online list should never be used as permission to gather, prepare or use a plant.

This article intentionally does not provide harvesting or ceremonial instructions. Learn through an appropriate relationship with people who hold that knowledge and follow the laws governing the land and species involved.

The Medicine Wheel/Medicine Mountain site in Wyoming

The Medicine Wheel/Medicine Mountain National Historic Landmark in the Bighorn Mountains is a physical stone site, not simply a classroom diagram. It remains culturally important to multiple Tribal Nations.

National Park Service documentation describes Medicine Wheel sites as important parts of Native American heritage and notes that their cultural histories, uses and meanings cannot always be reduced to one archaeological explanation. Visitors should follow current site guidance and respect closures, offerings and ongoing Tribal use.

For another public Treaty 6 learning resource from Patrick, read Treaty 6 Cree Tipi Teachings.

Using a four-part reflection in classrooms

Educators can use Patrick’s public physical-emotional-mental-spiritual reflection only when it is attributed to him and identified as one Treaty 6 Cree perspective. Do not introduce an unattributed worksheet as “the Native American Medicine Wheel.”

• Begin by naming Patrick Mitsuing, Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation and Treaty 6.
• Explain that other Nations and knowledge holders may teach the circle differently.
• Use the reflection to ask open questions rather than assign fixed personalities or identities.
• Do not ask students to imitate ceremonies, choose a “spirit animal” or reproduce sacred designs.
• Invite local Indigenous educators through respectful relationships and compensate them for their work.

Powwow Times offers Indigenous school assemblies and cultural presentations that can be adapted to student age, curriculum and community context.

Frequently asked questions

What do the Medicine Wheel colors mean?

There is no universal answer. Colors and arrangements vary among Nations, communities and teachers. Use a named source for the specific wheel you are studying.

What do the four directions represent?

Meanings vary. Directions may be connected with land, seasons, life stages, relationships or other teachings in a particular cultural context.

Can anyone use a Medicine Wheel?

Anyone can learn from public educational material when it is accurately attributed. That does not authorize a person to copy ceremonies, claim community identity or teach restricted knowledge.

Is every Medicine Wheel divided into physical, emotional, mental and spiritual sections?

No. That is one widely used contemporary framework and the public version Patrick shares here. Other knowledge holders may use different categories or not use that framework at all.

Editorial note: Powwow Times replaced an earlier pan-Indigenous version of this article on August 23, 2026. The current page identifies its sources and omits ceremonial instructions.