Built by ancient Indigenous People and long considered to be sacred, the Iniskim Umaapi medicine wheel in Alberta is one of the oldest religious monuments in the world. It sits on a windswept hill far from any signs of civilisation. It consists of a central cairn surrounded by 28 radiating stone lines that are encircled by another large ring of stones measuring 27m in diameter.

Iniskim Umaapi is situated on one of the highest hills in the region. On a clear day, you can see for about 100km in every direction when you’re standing inside the circle. The site is surrounded by grasslands, and there are stones outside the circle on at least two other high hilltops. While some archaeologists interpret the placement of the stones outside the main circle as the random results of a glacial moraine, Professor Gordon Freeman believes they were carefully placed there. Taken all together, he believes they represent the sun, the crescent moon, the morning star and constellations. According to Freeman, the rising and setting sun on both the longest and shortest days of the year line up with rocks inside and outside the circle. The spring and autumn equinoxes, when day and night are equal, are similarly marked with uncanny accuracy and the 28 radiating lines inside the circle correspond to the length of the lunar cycle.

However, the native Blackfoot people also see the stone circle as having four quadrants. The number four is one of the most significant numbers in Blackfoot culture, because it represents many things including the four cardinal directions, the four sacred medicines and the four human needs. To some Blackfoot, the four quadrants of the medicine wheel represent emotional, physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. The ancient stone circle is a place to find balance.