The Medicine Wheel Tool, one of the eleven key component of the Genuine Contact program, is based on the medicine wheel used by indigenous peoples around the world from the beginning of recorded time. The North American indigenous peoples had a council of elders and gave the Medicine Wheel for use in the world for all in 1987 and again in 1991. Other traditions of using the Medicine Wheel known by other names have been available for use in the world since the beginning of recorded history. The wheel was originally adapted as a reflection tool for use at the end of an Open Space Technology meeting by Harrison Owen 1992 with an alteration of words in each of the four directions to express components of an organization. The North American version of the traditional Medicine Wheel expresses components of the life of the individual. The version developed by Harrison Owen was adapted for purposes of organizational development by Dalar International Consultancy.
The Medicine Wheel Tool is a process for using this adapted Medicine Wheel for multiple purposes in an organization. Some uses include determining a business goal; diagnosing the health and balance of an organization; developing a plan for the regeneration of health and balance of an organization; and working through organizational solutions following a specific pattern to achieve desired results. Within the design of the Genuine Contact program, no specific workshop module was created to teach the Medicine Wheel Tool. Rather, it is taught in an application specific context in the following workshops: Achieving Organizational Health and Balance, Individual Health and Balance, Holistic Leadership Development, Working with Open Space Technology, Whole Person Process Facilitation, and the Genuine Contact Organization. As well, Dalar International Consultancy through its Genuine Contact Way workshops offers additional workshops for applications for the Medicine Wheel Tool: Mentoring and Coaching; Consulting; Leading and Acting from a New Level of Consciousness; and Strategic Planning. As well, from time to time, Dalar International Consultancy offers special events in which participants learn multi-purpose applications of the Medicine Wheel Tool.
