A film by Terry Grant and Kristi Wheeler




"The language the spirit understands is ritual, archaic language- motion, symbols, ceremony. You need to go to this deeper level for healing. " -Basil Brave Heart

Basil Brave Heart grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota only a few miles from Wounded Knee where some of his ancestors are buried. Raised in the warrior tradition of defending the homeland, he enlisted in 1951 at age 17 as a paratrooper in the elite 187th Airborne Regiment and served in the Korean War.                        


There, he fought on the front lines and saw friends die in combat. He and his comrades were ordered to keep the events of one controversial raid a secret. Though he was decorated by General Westmoreland himself, Brave Heart returned home a broken man.



What had happened overseas, he hid- even from his family. He became a teacher but, haunted by survivor's guilt, he began a struggle with alcoholism. Twenty years later, he was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is the story of how he was healed by returning to the Native traditions and ceremonies of his Lakota ancestors. Now an elder, he has become a spiritual leader among his own people and a counselor for combat veterans and others from throughout the United States who suffer from PTSD, alchoholism and drug addiction.



To order a copy of Medicine Wheel contact
Terry Grant (terry169@hotmail.com). The cost is $25


The one-hour video documentary was produced by Terry Grant and Kristi Wheeler of St. Paul. The film makers have won local as well as international awards.