|
Teacher Summary
|
A Medicine Wheel is a circle divided into parts (usually
four), which relate with and counterbalance one another to form a whole, and
is often used to represent Aboriginal wisdom in North America. Medicine
Wheels are not necessarily a tradition belonging to all Aboriginal peoples.
However, many cultures have some variation of the Wheel, and the Traditional
Knowledge and views of the various first peoples of North America are more
compatible with the circle concept than with linear, European-based forms of
thought.
The Medicine Wheel represents and unites various aspects
of the world, both seen and unseen, and emphasizes how all parts of the world
and all levels of being are related and connected through a life force
originating in the creation of the universe. Some wheels teach about the
four cardinal directions, the seasons, times of day, or stages of life;
others represent the races of people, animals, natural elements, aspects of
being, and so on. All parts of the wheel are
important, and depend on each other in the cycle of life; what affects
one affects all, and the world cannot continue with missing parts. For this
reason, the Medicine Wheel teaches that harmony, balance and respect for all
parts are needed to sustain life.
The centre of the Medicine
Wheel symbolizes the self in balance, and the perspective of traditional
philosophy. The central perspective is a neutral place where it is possible
to develop a holistic vision and understanding of creation and the
connections between all things.
Medicine Wheels made of
stones arranged on the Earth have been found in various places throughout North America, marking places of special significance, such as places of energy, ceremony,
meeting, meditation, teaching, and celebration. Some estimate that there
were about 20,000 medicine wheels in North America before European contact
occurred. Some Medicine Wheels on the prairies have been found to be 5,000
years old or more.
|
|
Strategy
|
- Take students to a place in an open area outside the
school (yard or field). Ask if they know which direction they live in.
Have them point in that direction. Ask them to look at the sun. Which
way is the sun facing in the morning? Explain that this is the East.
Where is it in the evening? Explain this is the West. Ask who knows
what the other directions are called – point them out. Explain South
and North. Each of us is at the centre of these directions.
- Explain that Aboriginal people have traditional teachings to share, given to them thousands of years ago and passed down
through the generations. Tradition is knowledge or ways of doing
things that are taught by older people - or Elders - who have worked and
studied many years with Elders that came before them to understand the
traditions. Aboriginal elders teach that the four directions are
very special and very important, not just to them, but to everyone -
because all of us share these same four directions no matter where we
are: at home, at school, in doors or outdoors. The four directions
never change. Aboriginal traditions see the four directions as sacred,
because each direction gives us special gifts. So they teach that we
must always respect the four directions and the gifts they
bring. What is respect?
- Have the class face East together. What is the gift of
the East? What comes from the East that we need? Explain that this is
the direction where the sun comes up every day. Why is the sun
important to us? The sun’s light gives us warmth and makes our plants
and foods grow; we need the sun for our physical survival. What
is survival? What colour is the sun? Yellow: a colour that the Ojibwe
people use to represent the East. Now turn together to the south, in
the direction that the sun moves. Explain that this is the direction
the sun passes each and every day, year after year. The sun gets hotter
in the south, which is represented among the Ojibwe by the colour red.
Now turn to face West together. Explain that this is where the sun goes
down and night comes, represented among the Ojibwe by the colour black.
Now turn to face North together. Explain that this is where a new day
gets ready to be born. North is represented among the Ojibwe by the
colour white. Explain that Ojibwe elders teach that these directions
and colours are sacred, and are remembered in their prayers.
- Face East again, and the cycle is complete. Did we
change our position? No, we stayed in the centre, because we are always
in the centre. Even if we move left or right, we are always in the
middle of the four directions. So this is important to remember
according to traditional teachings because it reminds us that we are
connected to the four directions. We cannot escape them. They are part
of us and we are part of them. Return to class.
- Show a picture of a Medicine Wheel to the class
to generate discussion (see links below). Who knows what this is? What
is this called? Where does it come from? Show a modern representation
of a Medicine Wheel. What do the colours represent? Why is it called a
Medicine Wheel? What is medicine? We use medicine to heal us;
it is good for us; it keeps us strong and healthy. This looks like a wheel because it is round and each part is the same size. The Ojibwe and
other Aboriginal people have used the Medicine Wheel as a symbol for
generations, to remember and respect the Four Directions and the good
things that the sun and the seasons bring us every day. Explain a
little bit more about Medicine Wheels from the Teacher Summary above.
- Now ask students to identify the Four Directions in the
classroom. Put up a yellow sheet on the eastern wall. Put up a red
sign in the south; a black sign in the west; and a white sign in the
north. Explain these are colours used by the Ojibwe. Other Aboriginal
groups use different colours.
- Explain that Lillian Pitawanakwat is an elder and has
traditional teachings to share with the students about the Ojibwe
Medicine Wheel.
- Visit Four Directions homepage together as a class to read the Elder biography to the class.
- Individually or in pairs, have students listen to
Lillian’s teaching on the East.
- On paper, have students draw a large circle. Draw four
quadrants. Colour the first quadrant on the right in yellow. Label it
“East.” Ask, “What else does Lillian say the East represents? Spring,
when new life begins and flowers begin to grow.” Label the yellow
quadrant in the drawing “spring.”
- Individually or in pairs have students listen to
Lillian’s teaching on the South. Colour the second (bottom) quadrant in
red. Label it “South”. Which season does south represent? Summer,
when flowers have grown and are in full bloom. Label the quadrant
“summer.”
- Individually or in pairs have students listen to
Lillian’s teaching on the West. Colour the third quadrant on the left
in black. Label it “West.” Which season does west represent? Fall,
when flowers die. Label the quadrant “fall.”
- Individually or in pairs have students listen to
Lillian’s teaching on the North. Colour
the last (upper) quadrant in white. Label it “North”. Which season does
north represent? Winter, when plants rest and the ground is covered in
snow. Label the north quadrant “winter.”
- Wrap up the lesson with a guided reading of the summary
above and select from optional exercises below.
Optional Exercises:
- Find Manitoulin Island, the Elder’s community, on a map
of Ontario. Who knows where Manitoulin Island is? Who has visited
there?
- Identify additional symbols of the seasons to add to the
drawings.
- Research the vocabulary words in a dictionary and study
the meanings.
- Find creative ways to craft Medicine Wheels using hoops,
coloured cloth, leather, paints, yarn, etc.
- Identify the relationship between the Four Directions
and the Four Sacred Colours of the Medicine Wheel.
- Invite an Aboriginal elder to the class to discuss the
Medicine Wheel from his/her perspective.
- Take the class to visit a planetarium to demonstrate how
Earth’s orbit around the sun creates the seasons, and how the circle or
wheel is evident in many ways, such as the shapes of the Earth and Sun,
and the orbits of the Earth and moon.
- Visit related websites that explain the solar system and
the changing of the seasons from a scientific perspective (see links
below).
|
|
Materials Required
|
- 4 large coloured sheets of paper for the walls (yellow,
red, black, white)
- Markers, crayons or paint, and paper for four-coloured
Medicine Wheel drawing
- Other arts and crafts materials, if available, for more
elaborate Medicine Wheel models (hoops, coloured cloth, paint, yarn,
leather, etc.)
|