Within 200 words in total, provide a short answer to the following question: What is the educational role of the Medicine Wheel in the indigenous religions and cultures of North America?

In many Indigenous cultures, the Medicine Wheels components exemplify all traditional teachings and can therefore be used as a guide on any journey, including the educational process. While there is some variation in its teachings and representations, the underlying web of meaning to Medicine Wheels remains the same: the importance of appreciating and respecting the ongoing interconnectedness and interrelatedness of all things. Therefore, there is no right or wrong way of representing or using Medicine Wheels: all forms hold specific meaning to the various Indigenous nations while all transmit a common understanding of the interconnectedness and interrelatedness of all things.

The wheel drawing simply begins by making a circle. Superimposed on this circle are four equidistant points. These points symbolically identify the power/medicine of the four directions (east, south, west, north) using four different colours. The final drawing resembles a compass for human understanding. Around the spirit world of the four directions is the Creator above and Mother Earth below. Sources: http://www.cea-ace.ca/education-canada/article/teaching-medicine-wheel