Sacred Hoops
A Return to the Center
The Medicine Wheel, shown as an early version of the
Sacred Hoops logo, inspired by the Man in the Maze motif.
Sacred Hoops
“Everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the power of the world always works in circles, and everything tries to be round.¹ ”
There is a way of seeing the world that understands everything as interconnected — that life moves in cycles, that healing flows in relationship, and that power, when held in a circle, becomes something sacred. For many Indigenous peoples of North America, the circle is not merely a shape, but a structure for living. It is the shape of ceremony, of community, of the seasons and stars. It is the shape of balance.
In the words of Black Elk, the sacred hoop of his people once held everything: the wisdom of the elders, the laughter of children, the teachings of the land, and the protection of spirit. The people lived close to the earth and to one another, and as long as the hoop remained whole, the people flourished.
Black Elk with his daughter Lucy
and wife Anna Brings White, c. 1910.²
A Scattering of Traditions
What followed was a scattering — of people, traditions, languages, and lifeways. Black Elk's words, spoken late in life, are laced with grief and clarity:
“You see me now a pitiful old man who has done nothing, for the nation’s hoop is broken and scattered. There is no center any longer, and the sacred tree is dead. ”
It is from this heartbreak that Sacred Hoops takes its name and its purpose. This space does not pretend to mend what has been lost. Rather, it is a response — a humble effort to remember the shape of the circle, to create space for those who carry healing, art, and wisdom to come together in a new way. Not as a replacement for traditional teachings, but as an offering in service to them.
The teachings of the Medicine Wheel, which also moves in a circle, remind us that every direction holds its own wisdom. The East teaches us to begin. The South to feel. The West to release. The North to remember. And at the center — where all paths cross — there is still the possibility of a tree blooming again.
What would it mean to build a center that welcomes all who walk with care? What would it mean to gather in a circle once more — not just around a fire, but around a shared intention to heal, create, and reconnect?
Black Elk once saw from the top of the highest mountain that the sacred hoop of his people was but one of many — and that together they formed a greater circle, wide as daylight and starlight.
We believe that circle still exists — if we return to it.
The second iteration of the Sacred Hoops logo, featuring a flowering tree rooted in the
earth with an interwoven rainbow-colored Flower of Life radiating in the background.
Returning to the Center
“And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people was one of many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father. ”
If the sacred hoop of one people is connected to many, then perhaps healing is not just personal — it is collective. The dream Black Elk shared was not only for the Lakota, but for all peoples: that we might live together like one being, rooted around a common center, nourished by a tree whose branches stretch toward the sky and whose roots remember the earth.
Sacred Hoops is built as a reflection of this vision.
It is not a marketplace. Not a stage. Not another feed for distraction. It is a living circle — a digital gathering ground designed to reconnect healers, artists, elders, and veterans with the communities they serve.
As this circle forms, we are committed to building Sacred Hoops in partnership with tribal organizations and First Nations communities across Turtle Island. Sacred Hoops is not ours alone to define; it is a shared effort rooted in consent, collaboration, and respect for the cultural lineages that inspire it. With each step, we listen, we learn, and we commit to upholding the sovereignty of the traditions that make this possible.
Here, we draw from the teachings of the Medicine Wheel — a guide for orientation and balance found in many Native traditions. Each direction is honored not as a static label, but as a space of movement and becoming.
The Sacred Fire Ceremony
Directions of the Medicine Wheel
East
(Yellow)
The rising sun, the place of vision and new beginnings; where storytellers, dreamers, and seekers gather.
South
(Red)
The fire of growth, play, and creativity; home to the artist, the child, and the builder of bridges.
West
(Black)
The waters of depth, healing, and ceremony; where grief transforms into wisdom and wounds into medicine.
North
(White)
The wind of the elders, carrying truth, resilience, and the clarity of time, integration, and responsibility.
Sky
(Blue)
Father Sky, vast and unseen, the spirit world and higher consciousness that moves through all things.
Earth
(Green)
Mother Earth, the foundation of life, holding the land, the body, and the resources that sustain us.
Center
(Purple/Multicolor)
The still point where all forces converge; balance of seen and unseen, Earth and Sky, body and spirit.
The directions, colors, and energies of the Medicine Wheel vary among First Nations traditions, and this list is offered as one interpretation, not a definitive guide.
Current version of the Sacred Hoops logo and tagline.
An Invitation to You
— Paw Paw One Tribe
Sacred Hoops is still being woven — a living circle, known as Paw Paw One Tribe, carried through Ryan’s original tongue. Here, every voice, vision, song, and silence helps tend the center and bring the tree to bloom, strengthened by each presence and offering to restore the balance that has long awaited return. It is both a gathering place and a path forward, where what you carry is valued and what you share becomes part of the whole.
In this early stage, we welcome those who feel called to walk with us — to step into the circle, help shape a space of tradition and creativity rooted in respect and reciprocity, and to hold the center as it forms. Together, we begin the work of weaving a digital community that reflects both ancestral wisdom and the possibility of renewal.
Contact Ryan if you'd like to learn more, collaborate, or get involved.
Healing Through Relationships
At the center is the fire — the sacred flame that transforms matter into spirit. It is where we remember that healing happens through relationships: with each other, with the land, with the teachings, and with what is yet to come.
To step into Sacred Hoops is to step into the circle. It is to offer your voice, your craft, your care. It is also to listen — to those whose roots are deeper, whose songs are older, whose medicine has weathered the long winters of forgetting.
This is a space of reciprocity, not performance. It invites reverence, not perfection. And it asks of each person who joins: What medicine do you carry?
The sacred tree, Black Elk said, once stood at the center of the hoop. Its shade was for everyone. Its flowering was a sign of harmony.
Our hope is to help plant that tree again — not alone, but together.
An Invitation to Return to the Circle
To live in alignment with the sacred hoop is to walk with intention, humility, and balance. It is not a linear path, but a spiraling one — guided by spirit, rooted in community, and attuned to the rhythms of the natural world.
At Sacred Hoops, we believe that this way of walking can still be found — and that we can walk it together.
This is not just a space to share content; it is a space to share medicine — through words, art, sound, and presence. It is a call to remember the circle, to live in reciprocity, and to offer your gifts in service of healing and connection.
We Welcome
Healers, who carry practices that soothe the body, mind, and spirit — from ancient traditions to new approaches rooted in care.
Artists, who make beauty out of struggle and give form to the invisible — whose work nourishes, reveals, and uplifts.
Elders and wisdom keepers, whose life experience and spiritual insight guide the rest of us toward what truly matters.
Seekers, who come not with answers but with open hearts — ready to listen, learn, and grow.
Veterans, whose journeys through service and survival hold deep stories of strength, sacrifice, and the longing to come home — to self, to spirit, and to community.
Communities, who are looking for ways to reconnect — with each other, with tradition, and with something greater than themselves.
Black Elk, in Black Elk Speaks, as told to John G. Neihardt (Univ. of Nebraska Press)
Black Elk image, unknown author, Public Domain. Source: The Sixth Grandfather: Black Elk’s Teaching’s Given to John G. Neihardt.