Campus community gathers at Medicine Wheel to kick off the school year

As hundreds of students arrived at the UW-Superior campus last week, a large group of university community members gathered at the Maawanji’idiwin “The Place Where We Come Together” Medicine Wheel and Community Gathering Area near the center of campus.

The event was the first campus-wide gathering at the Medicine Wheel since its dedication last October, and it was held to welcome all people to the campus, in the tradition of the Ojibwe people, whose land UWS inhabits.

“Boozhoo nindinawemaaginadoog! Hello and welcome all my relatives,” said Kat Werchouski, Assistant Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. “Today is a good day. This is a place we can all come together and be united as people. The colors of the medicine wheel represent the human races, among other things. We are connected on this wheel together.”

The Medicine Wheel was dedicated in 2018 on Indigenous People’s Day, October 8, and is the first of its kind at any four-year college campus in the area. Campus leaders say it is a visible symbol of the university’s commitment to nurturing an inclusive campus environment, where all people are valued and supported.

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