My experience visiting one of the most sacred sites in the USA
On my last day in Wyoming was I able to visit the Big Horn Medicine wheel, an ancient Native American spiritual site where tribal ceremonial activity continues to this day. In fact, when I arrived a Sundance was going on at the site, so us non-Native Americans waited respectfully at the bottom of the hill until the ceremony was complete.
The Medicine Wheel has been a National Historic Landmark since 1970 due to its unique scientific research values. It's surrounded by 4,080 protected acres, used only for Native American cultures and practices.
The Bighorn Medicine Wheel is one of the largest and best preserved on the northern and northwestern Plains. It was the first medicine wheel to be mentioned in popular literature and the first to be studied by the professional scientific community.
Archeologists generally believe that the Medicine Wheel is a late prehistoric composite feature. A wood sample from one of the cairns at the site was dated to approximately 1760 A.D. by means of tree-ring dating. There are bone fragments, jewelry and fabric that have been left there over the centuries.
When I entered the site I was immediately overcome by the sacred space and the incredible ancestry and spirits that inhabited the land. Many leaders of various Native American tribes go there to pay to their respects to their ancestors, work with energy and connect to the earth. I definitely felt that being there.
I also met a man there who had traveled from across the country to bring gifts to the site from other Native American tribes that could not make the journey. It was incredible to know that while this Medicine Wheel may not be known to everyone, it certainly is throughout the tribes, and I’m so glad it’s preserved as a sacred space for those whose families have roamed the land so much longer than any of us.
It was an incredible honor to visit this sacred place and pay my respects to the spirits of this land, the people and culture whose lives were forever altered when the Pilgrims set foot here.
