This medicine wheel is handmade from porcupine quills.

Porcupine quillwork is an ancient art form completely unique to North America. The use of quills in designs is characteristic particularly among East Coast and Plains tribes. Quills need to be softened and may be dyed before use. Some of the most stunning examples of porcupine quill artistry are the Plains Indian war shirts, each of which would take a skilled quillworker more than a year to embroider. Porcupine quills are difficult to work with, and quilling is a very labor intensive process.

"In wearing the medicine wheels, one affirms that they are in total acceptance of all living beings and their natural ways as they go about the earth."
- Loretta Afraid of Bear (Oglala Lakota)