All Creation Represented: A Child’s Guide to the Medicine Wheel

All Creation Represented: A Child’s Guide to the Medicine Wheel is an educational resource written by Joyce Perreault and illustrated by Terra Mar (the pen name of artist Ashley Marcynuk). The author is an Ojibwe teacher who explains on her YouTube channel that she wrote the book to give teachers and students a way to reconnect with their heritage and learn about the Medicine Wheel from an Ojibwe perspective.

While there are many interpretations of the Medicine Wheel, All Creation Represented explains how the Medicine Wheel is the Circle of Life for Ojibwe People. As a teaching tool, this book introduces how the Medicine Wheel is centred around the sacred number four, and it expands upon various Ojibwe teachings about The Four Directions, The Four Times of Day, The Four Sacred Plants, The Four Stages of Life, and The Four Sacred Aspects of a Human Being, to name some examples. All Creation Represented focuses on respecting values and “reverence for living things”. It combines teachings that are both traditional, from ancestors, and contemporary, while reflecting on how “different parts of life are connected and balanced with one another.”

The illustrations in All Creation Represented are beautifully executed in a minimalist style, combining both realistic and stylized line drawings that depict the concrete (e.g., people, animals, plants) and the abstract (e.g., the spirit, the mind). The colour palette draws from the Medicine Wheel’s four sacred colours (black, white, yellow, red) and the bright blues and greens of nature (e.g., water, sky, foliage).

The back matter includes a glossary of words in Ojibwe and English, listed in nine attractive, colourful “glossary bubbles”, each with four terms linked to themes from the book’s spreads (e.g., lists of four bilingual words for The Four Elements, The Four Sacred Animals, etc.) Additionally, there is a helpful vowel chart with pronunciation key.

However, there are some inconsistencies in All Creation Represented regarding its book design and backmatter which would have benefitted from more thorough editing. For example, the text’s inconsistent layout (alignment) and a light font choice against various coloured backgrounds can make it harder to read. A more exact discussion of the significance of The Four Sacred Colours is missing (although the colours are listed in a glossary bubble); and a spread about The Four Nations does not have a corresponding glossary bubble. In the backmatter, not all titles in the glossary bubbles are consistent in heading style. The list of vowels also includes a non-vowel. Page numbers would have been useful, given the book may be used as a teaching tool.

I also wonder about one particular section in this book, namely “The Four Nations” spread. In discussing how the number four is a sacred number, earlier text states that “A person is often represented in four ways as well, such as in the Nations…” Subsequently, “The Four Nations” spread is entitled, “Each Nation is Gifted in a Special Way” and then categorizes the human family as The White Nation, The Yellow Nation, The Red Nation, and The Black Nation. Notably, this spread’s title and opening tone encourages harmony with others:

The Four Nations teach us how to live in balance and harmony with others. Each Nation contributes knowledge and appreciates the differences and gifts of others, and this strengthens us all as people living on Earth.

Acknowledging the value in learning about traditional ways of knowing, I nonetheless wonder if some readers new to learning about Ojibwe culture or who do not feel they belong to any of the four categories of nations may have questions about the descriptions in “The Four Nations” spread:

The Yellow Nation, kind and innocent, is gifted with knowledge. The Yellow Nation represents the knowledge to take a small object and make it into something powerful.

The Red Nation hard-working and helpful, is gifted with foresight. The Red Nation represents the ability to foresee the future and see what is needed to take care of others.

The Black Nation, free and peaceful, is gifted with insight. The Black Nation is the keeper of the Western doorway through which all people must go when they leave the Earth for the spirit world.

The White Nation, strong and wise, is gifted with swiftness and speed like that of the White Bear. The White Nation represents how listening to an Elder’s voice of wisdom will help the younger people who need guidance.

Depending on their audience, adults who are not familiar with traditional teachings may wish to consider how they would share this particular spread with young readers, especially in the context of a multi-cultural classroom or public setting.

Aside from this reservation, All Creation Represented generally succeeds in conveying many culturally rich ideas and practices and is written in a gentle, accessible style. Readers will learn a lot about what the Medicine Wheel means from an Ojibwe perspective.