West

The third direction of the Medicine Wheel, is the western direction (epangishmok), which represents autumn (dqwaagi), a time for harvesting rice and cranberries. This direction is where a majority of the hunting, fishing and gathering takes place, to stock up for the long, cold winter months. This direction is the color black (mkaadewaa), where it represents the evening time (naakshi), and our adult stage (ntaawgi). In this direction we need to get in touch with our emotions (enmanjiwang). The buffalo (bgwaji) also represents this stage. In this direction we smudge sage (mshkwaadewashk), so that we can prepare our minds and souls for our remaining duration of our journey.

Western Activities

• Hunting
• Ricing