Hidden · Big Horn Mountains, Wyoming, United States
Medicine Wheel
A 75-foot ring of stones with 28 spokes in the Bighorn National Forest, the wheel where the term medicine wheel is said to have first been used for this kind of Native American stone structure.
A stone wheel with 28 spokes in the Bighorn Mountains.
The Medicine Wheel is in the Bighorn National Forest, in Big Horn County, Wyoming. It is about 75 feet across and has 28 spokes, and it belongs to a wider set of Native American sites in the area that document about 7,000 years of history. It is described as the southernmost archaeological medicine wheel still standing.
The term medicine wheel is said to have been first applied to this site. Medicine here did not necessarily refer to healing. The word marks a sacred place of religious and spiritual importance. Stone wheels like this one follow a pattern: a central circle or cairn, an outer ring and spokes running outward, and from the air they can look like a wagon wheel lying flat.
A sacred place whose purpose is still discussed.
Medicine wheels were built by many Indigenous nations, notably Plains nations, and used for ceremonies over thousands of years. Each one is different enough that archaeologists have found it hard to say exactly what any single wheel was for, and a wheel's role may have changed over time as later generations added to it. The number of spokes is often 28, the same as the days in a lunar cycle, and some wheels line up with the cardinal directions or with the sun or moon.
Astronomers have proposed that spokes could point to stars or to sunrise and sunset to mark days of the year. A later study of three wheels, including this one, found no statistical evidence for alignment with stars. Whatever its original use, the wheel remains a sacred site connected to the builders' culture and ceremonies, and a visit should respect that.
Practical notes.
Before you go.
What is a medicine wheel?
A circular arrangement of stones on the land, usually with a central circle or cairn, an outer ring and spokes running out from the center. They are sacred sites built by many Indigenous nations.
Why is it called a medicine wheel?
The term is said to have been first applied to this wheel in Wyoming. It does not necessarily refer to healing, but to the religious and spiritual importance of the site.
How big is the Wyoming Medicine Wheel?
About 75 feet in diameter, with 28 spokes. The number matches the days of a lunar cycle, a number common to many wheels.
Is the Medicine Wheel an astronomical observatory?
Some researchers have suggested alignments with the sun or stars, but a later study of three wheels, including this one, found no statistical evidence for stellar alignments.
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