The Circle Teaching

Core Foundation

The Circle is the centerpiece of all Indigenous/Amerindian cosmology, social structure, health, healing, and spiritual science. It is not decorative—it is foundational law.

The Circle exists at every scale: from atomic particles to galaxies, from seasonal cycles to life stages, from individual cells to entire ecosystems. This is not metaphor—this is observable natural law that Western linear systems actively work against.

Primary Principles

1. The Circle as Natural Law

• Everything in nature moves in circles: seasons, celestial bodies, life cycles, wind patterns, water cycles, nests, plant growth, animal migrations
• Circle = power aligned with natural order: When communities organize in circles (physical and conceptual), they tap into universal law—not human invention
• Energy exists in circular form: From subatomic motion to cosmic rotation—the wheel is sacred technology, the smallest and greatest unit of power
• Time is the greatest circle: Continuous flow with no beginning or end, cycling like rivers, renewing like trees through seasons

The Circle teaches: completion, wholeness, interconnection, humility, respect, equality, balance, and return

2. Relational Equality (No Hierarchy)

• In the Circle, everyone sees everyone. No one is above, below, in front of, or behind
• All beings (human, animal, plant, elemental, land, ancestors) are relatives with unique gifts—not ranked
• Different ≠ Deficient: Variation in gifts is structural necessity, not hierarchy
• Balance requires left and right: What’s done on one side must be honored on the other; momentum comes from equilibrium, not domination
• Example: In the Tonalpohualli calendar, Jaguar and Rabbit are equally vital to cosmic balance

3. Collective Wellbeing = Individual Wellbeing

• Personal health, success, and prosperity are inseparable from community, land, and ecosystem health
• “Create healthy circles outward—but you must be healthy first”: Healing ripples concentrically from centered self → family → community → nation → world
• Contrast with linear Western individualism: Success is relational reverberation, not personal conquest
• Wîcisokos principle (Cree “helper”): Honored role of assisting ceremonies, elders, and community—helping those who help themselves (circular accountability, not saviorism)

4. Land as Sacred Ancestor (Not Property)

• Earth (Tlalnantzin, Tonantzin) is teacher, relative, and ancestor—not resource or commodity
• We belong to the land; it does not belong to us
• Reciprocal care = honoring the land’s role within the Circle
• Borders are colonial fiction: Belonging is ancestral, rooted in relationship to place across generations

5. Circular Time vs. Linear Time

Circular: Seasons, life stages, renewal—time returns and cycles

• 13 moons (lunar calendar) mark annual Earth cycles
• Present moment holds ancestral continuity AND future responsibility
• Ceremonies restore balance by reconnecting to natural rhythms

Linear: “Progress,” productivity, “past → present → future” as discrete segments

• Treats time as commodity to extract and spend
• Severs connection to ancestors and seven generations forward

Indigenous time consciousness honors present while maintaining relational memory and obligation

6. Energy, Flow, and Natural Momentum

• “Go with the flow of nature”: Resistance disrupts energy, causes stagnation, illness, imbalance
• Staying “in tune”: Like music, balance requires all elements harmonizing—no one instrument dominates
• What goes around comes around (boomerang effect): Universal reciprocity—actions return to source
  • Put out positive energy → receive positive energy
  • Extract without reciprocity → create imbalance that will correct itself (often painfully)
• Work/rest balance: Extremes (workaholism or no work) = unhealthy imbalance
  • Too much work → stress, disconnection, exploitation of self
  • No work → inability to contribute, dependency, loss of purpose

Circular vs. Linear Worldview: Key Contrasts

Circular / Indigenous	Linear / Western-Colonial
Interconnectedness: All life connected—humans, animals, plants, elements, cosmos, ancestors	Separateness: Life fragmented; beings exist in isolation
Equality in Diversity: No hierarchy—every being has unique gifts and purpose	Hierarchy: Value assigned in tiers (superior/inferior, civilized/primitive)
“We” / Community-Centered: Collective wellbeing and shared responsibility	“I” / Individual-Centered: Personal success > communal health
Community = All Life: Includes humans, animals, plants, land, elements, ancestors, future generations	Community = Humans Only: Excludes non-human relatives; nature as backdrop
Harmony with Nature: Balance, coexistence, reciprocal care	Domination over Nature: Nature as resource to exploit, control, commodify
Reciprocity / Karmic Awareness: Actions return to source; promotes accountability	Karmic Ignorance: Disregard for relational consequences; externalize harm
Sustainable Use: Responsibility to seven generations forward	Resource Extraction: Short-term profit, environmental destruction normalized
Time as Cyclical: Follows natural rhythms (seasons, moons, life stages, renewal)	Time as Linear: Straight progression focused on productivity, “progress,” accumulation
Practical + Spiritual Knowledge: Material and metaphysical dimensions integrated	Material-Only Science: Observable evidence only; spirituality dismissed as superstition
Intuitive Wisdom: Inner knowing + communal insight + elder teaching	Logical/Rational: Objective reasoning prioritized; intuition devalued
Relativity / Context: Truth depends on relationship, place, moment	Absolutism: Fixed, universal values imposed regardless of context
Present-Oriented: Focus on now while honoring ancestors and future generations	Future/Past-Oriented: Progress narrative or precedent over presence
Divine Duality: Creator embodies male and female energies; balance of forces	Male-Centric Divinity: God as exclusively male; feminine devalued or absent
Omnipresent Creator: Everywhere, in everything—accessible to all through nature, ceremony, daily life	Distant Creator: Removed, transcendent, accessible only via mediators (priests, scripture)
Personal Connection to Divine: Direct relationship through lived experience	Mediated Connection: Requires religious authority, institutional validation
Listening: Connection and respect through receptivity, silence, observation	Communication: Assertiveness, self-expression, talking over silence
Humility: Modesty; acknowledging interdependence and limits	Self-Importance: Ego, pride, self-promotion, exceptionalism
Cooperation: Collective support for communal goals; “helper” role honored	Competition: Individual success at others’ expense; zero-sum mentality
Gifting / Sharing: Resources distributed for balance and need	Possession / Accumulation: Resources hoarded; wealth = virtue
Trust-Based Agreements: Word as bond; honor and relationship sustain commitments	Written Contracts: Formalized accountability; distrust assumed
Acceptance: Honoring differences without judgment	Judgmental Evaluation: Constant critique, ranking, comparison
Consensus-Building: All voices heard in decision-making; slower but sustainable	Majority Rule: Efficiency > inclusivity; minorities steamrolled
Land as Ancestral / Communal: Sacred, living, collectively cared for across generations	Land as Property: Commodity for ownership, sale, extraction, development
Respect for Elders / Ancestors: Wisdom keepers honored; oral tradition preserved	Youth-Centric: Novelty > elder knowledge; dismiss “outdated” ways
Sacred Silence: Reflection, listening, connection to spirit and land	Noise / Over-Communication: Discomfort with silence; constant stimulation
Lifelong Learning from All Life: Wisdom from nature, community, lived experience	Formal Education as Authority: Degrees and certifications = knowledge; experience devalued
Ritual as Life-Affirming: Connects to sacred cycles and natural rhythms	Routine as Productivity: Efficiency-driven, spiritually disconnected, mechanized
Gratitude / Reciprocity: Daily practice honoring all beings and gifts received	Entitlement / Expectation: Results demanded without interdependence or thanks
Responsibility as Relationship: Care, respect, tending connections	Responsibility as Obligation: Burdensome duty, contractual minimum
Wellbeing as Communal Health: Personal health tied to community and environment	Wellbeing as Private: Individual pursuit, medicalized, separate from community
Relational Accountability: Restoring harmony, healing relationships	Punitive Justice: Punishment, incarceration, retribution over restoration
Energy flows in circles: Momentum from balance; disruption stops flow	Energy extracted linearly: One-way extraction until depletion; no return flow
Ceremony restores balance: Ritual reconnects humans to natural law	Ceremony as performance: Spirituality commodified or dismissed as primitive

Critical Warnings: Linear Mentality & Colonial Conditioning

The Vertical Trap

Linear worldview creates top/bottom, better/worse, first/last, advanced/primitive hierarchies.

This breeds:

• Unhealthy competition (“one-up” behavior, scarcity mindset)
• Disrespect (devaluing “lower” positions—people, knowledge systems, cultures)
• Ego wars (more Indigenous than, more spiritual than, more woke than, more correct than)
• Authenticity policing (blood quantum, purity tests, lateral oppression)

Domestication / Conditioning

Dominant society trains people to rank and segment—this is learned, not natural:

• Humans > animals > plants (species hierarchy)
• Men > women > non-binary (gender hierarchy)
• White > Brown/Black (racial hierarchy)
• Wealthy > poor (class hierarchy)
• Formal education > experiential knowledge (epistemological hierarchy)
• Written > oral tradition (knowledge hierarchy)
• Civilized > primitive (cultural hierarchy)
• Individual success > collective care (value hierarchy)

Colonial systems depend on these hierarchies to justify extraction, genocide, and erasure.

“Broken Circle” Between Humans and Nature

Linear systems have severed the relationship between humans and the rest of creation:

• Nature becomes “environment” (backdrop, not relative)
• Land becomes “property” (commodity, not ancestor)
• Animals become “resources” (objects, not kin)
• Time becomes “money” (scarcity, not gift)

Reconnecting the circle requires: studying natural cycles, living in reciprocity, honoring all relatives, centering land-based relationships.

Medicine Wheel: Four Parts of a Whole Person

The medicine wheel integrates the four aspects of self that must be balanced:

1. Spiritual: The initial spark of life; connection to Creator, ancestors, purpose
2. Physical: The body; health, movement, material needs, embodied practice
3. Mental: Language, learning, senses, thought, analysis, knowledge systems
4. Emotional: How we react to the world; identity shaped by experience, relationships, trauma, joy

When one aspect is neglected, the whole person suffers.
When one aspect dominates, imbalance creates illness.

Linear systems separate these (e.g., Western medicine ignores spirit; academia dismisses emotion; capitalism exploits body). Circular systems integrate them.

Four Keys to Circular Living

A practical framework for embodying Circle teachings:

1. Awareness

• Recognize linear conditioning in yourself, communities, institutions, systems
• Observe natural cycles (seasons, moon phases, migration patterns, growth/decay)
• Notice when you’re operating from hierarchy, scarcity, or competition

2. Balance

• Tend all four aspects of self (spiritual, physical, mental, emotional)
• Balance work and rest, giving and receiving, speaking and listening
• Create equilibrium between left and right, inner and outer, individual and collective

3. Purpose

• Align actions with collective wellbeing and seven generations forward
• Understand your unique gifts and how they serve the whole
• Live with intention—ceremony in daily life

4. Respect

• Honor all relatives: human, animal, plant, land, water, air, ancestors, future generations
• Practice gratitude as daily medicine
• Listen more than you speak; receive more than you demand

These keys are circular—they feed each other. Start anywhere; the circle will guide you.

Practical Applications & Examples

Reconnecting to Circular Rhythms

• Follow lunar calendar (13 moons): Track cycles instead of capitalist time
• Honor seasonal ceremonies: Mark equinoxes, solstices, harvest, renewal
• Observe natural patterns: Where do birds migrate? When do plants bloom? How does water move?
• Create circles physically: Sit in circles for meetings, meals, ceremony (no head of table)

Recognizing Linear Conditioning

Ask yourself:

• Am I competing when I could be cooperating?
• Am I hoarding when I could be sharing?
• Am I ranking people/knowledge/cultures instead of honoring difference?
• Am I thinking “me vs. them” instead of “we”?
• Am I extracting without giving back?

Restoring Balance

• If overworking: Rest is ceremony. Stop producing; start receiving.
• If isolated: Reconnect to community, land, ancestors through presence and service.
• If stressed: Go outside. Touch earth. Observe circles in nature.
• If ego-driven: Remember you are part of the whole, not the center of it.

Embodied Practices

• Music/tuning metaphor: Stay “in tune” with your four aspects—if one is sharp or flat, the whole song suffers
• Olympic rings analogy: Interconnection without hierarchy (but reject colonial “unity” that erases specificity)
• Hoop dance teaching: Physical movement reinforcing circular principles—what’s done on left must be done on right; flow requires balance
• Wîcisokos (helper) role: Serve ceremonies, elders, community—build capacity, don’t rescue

Application to Decolonial Work

Why This Matters for Liberation

Linear systems require hierarchy, extraction, and separation to function. Circular systems require reciprocity, balance, and interconnection to function.

You cannot dismantle white supremacy, capitalism, or colonialism using their logic.

• Colonialism is linear extraction: one-way flow of wealth, land, labor, knowledge from colonized to colonizer
• White supremacy is vertical hierarchy: ranking humans by proximity to whiteness
• Capitalism is infinite accumulation: treating finite earth as infinite resource

Circular Indigenous worldview is the antidote—not because it’s “nicer,” but because it’s structurally incompatible with domination systems.

Diagnosing Colonial Mentality in “Progressive” Spaces

Watch for:

• Saviorism (I will help “those people” vs. we are in this together)
• Authenticity policing (who’s “really” Indigenous, who’s “woke enough”)
• Academic gatekeeping (only peer-reviewed knowledge counts)
• Individualist leadership (charismatic figures vs. collective governance)
• Competitive radicalism (more revolutionary than thou)
• Proximity to whiteness as status (white institutions, white audiences, white approval)

Building Circular Resistance

• Consensus over majority rule: All voices matter, even if slower
• Collective care over individual heroism: No one leads alone; we move together
• Land-based action: Defend water, block pipelines, reclaim territory
• Oral tradition + digital strategy: Preserve memory while adapting tools
• Relational accountability: Call each other in, restore harmony, keep moving