Nomenclature
The Royal Alberta Museum (2005) hold that the term "medicine wheel" was first applied to the Big Horn medicine wheel in Wyoming, the most southern archeological wheel still extant. The term "medicine" was not applied because of any healing that was associated with the medicine wheel, but denotes that the sacred site and rock formations were of central importance and attributed with religious, hallowed, and spiritual significance. The revisionist and culturally congruent English nomenclature is "sacred hoop".
A 2007 Indian Country Today article on Indigenous American hoop dancing defines the hoop this way:
The hoop is symbolic of "the never-ending cycle of life." It has no beginning and no end. Tribal healers and holy men have regarded the hoop as sacred and have always used it in their ceremonies. Its significance enhanced the embodiment of healing ceremonies.
Read more about this topic: Medicine Wheel