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[[Image:Atrapasuenos.jpg|thumb|250px|A dreamcatcher.]]
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In [[Ojibwa]] (Chippewa)  culture, a '''dreamcatcher''' (or '''dream catcher'''; [[Anishinaabe language|Ojibwe]] '''''asabikeshiinh''''', the [[Ojibwe grammar#Gender|inanimate]] form of the word for "spider"<ref name="freelang">[http://www.freelang.net/dictionary/ojibwe.html Freelang Ojibwe Dictionary]</ref><ref name="NT">{{cite web|url = http://www.nativetech.org/dreamcat/dreamcat.html|title = NativeTech: Dream Catchers|accessmonthday = September 23|accessyear = 2007|last = Prindle|first =  Tara}}</ref> or '''''bawaajige nagwaagan''''' meaning "dream snare"<ref name="NT"/>) is a handmade object based on a [[willow]] hoop, on which is woven a loose [[net (device)|net]] or [[spider web|web]]. The dreamcatcher is then decorated with personal and sacred items such as feathers and beads.
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[[Image:Atrapasuenos.jpg|thumb|240px|Dreamcatchers roughly based on native designs are popular throughout North and South America.]]
 
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A '''dreamcatcher''' is a [[sacred]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] object that consists of a ring of red [[willow]], or other similarly common and pliable bark, held together by a web of sinew or fiber, connecting to the ring in seven or eight places. At the base of the dreamcatcher, there are several [[feather]]s. Although the origin of the dreamcatcher is unclear, due to the damage done to Native American culture by [[Europe]]an [[European Colonization of the Americas|colonizers]], it is theorized that they originated among the [[Ojibwe]] tribe of Native Americans, but as disparate groups of Native American tribes came together in the 1960s and 1970s (known as the [[Pan-Indian Movement]]), the [[tradition]] spread.
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{{toc}}
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Dreamcatchers are used to encourage good [[dreams]]. Ojibwe and [[Lakota]] lore depicts them as either trapping good or bad dreams, but the feathers almost always direct the good dreams to the sleeping owner of the dreamcatcher. The Native Americans believed strongly in the [[spirituality|spiritual]] realm, as well as in the power of dreams—things modern scholars are still baffled by and investigating.  
 +
{{Template:Good Luck2}}
 
==History==
 
==History==
The origins of the dreamcatcher are quite unclear, mostly due to the loss of much Native American history during European contact, colonization, and forced relocations. It should come as no surprise that the persecution of the Native Americans had such a detrimental impact on their history. Yet, legends surrounding the dreamcatcher exist in nearly all tribes across North America, and most of those legends revolve around similar themes: Spirits, spiders, and most prominently, dreams.<ref name=art>Diana Blake, [http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art37506.asp Legends of the Native American Dreamcatcher,] Art History. Retrieved July 2, 2008.</ref>
+
The origins of the dreamcatcher are quite unclear, mostly due to the loss of much Native American history during European contact, colonization, and forced [[Native_Americans_in_the_United_States#Removal_and_reservations|relocations]]. It should come as no surprise that the persecution of the Native Americans had such a detrimental impact on their history. Yet, legends surrounding the dreamcatcher exist in nearly all tribes across North America, and most of those legends revolve around similar themes: [[Spirit]]s, [[spider]]s, and most prominently, dreams.<ref name=art>Diana Blake, [http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art37506.asp Legends of the Native American Dreamcatcher,] Art History, Bella Online: The Voice of Women. Retrieved July 20, 2008.</ref>
  
The first documented observation of the dreamcatcher was in 1929, among the Chippewa, by [[ethnography|ethnographer]] [[Frances Densmore]].  
+
The first documented observation of the dreamcatcher was in 1929, among the Ojibwe (known then as the Chippewa), by [[ethnography|ethnographer]] [[Frances Densmore]]. Many believe that dreamcatchers indeed originated in the [[Ojibwa]] Nation, and that during the [[pan-Indian movement]] of the 1960s and 1970s, they were adopted by [[Native Americans of the United States|Native American]]s of a number of different Nations in an effort to show solidarity. They came to be seen by some as a symbol of unity among the various Indian Nations, and as a general symbol of identification with Native American or [[First Nations]] cultures. However, some Native Americans have come to see them as "tacky" and over-commercialized due to their acceptance in popular culture.<ref name=languages>Native Languages, [http://www.native-languages.org/dreamcatchers.htm Dream Catchers], Native Languages of the Americas website. Retrieved July 20, 2008.</ref>
  
==Legends==
+
Traditionally, the Ojibwa construct dreamcatchers by tying sinew strands in a web around a small round or tear-shaped frame of willow (in a way roughly similar to their method for making [[snowshoe]] webbing). In fact, red willow, common in many parts of the United States, was originally used, along with red twig dogwood and other members of the willow family.<ref name=dreamcatcher>Dream-Catchers.org, [http://www.dream-catchers.org/dream-catchers-faq.php What is a Dream Catcher?], Understanding the Dreamcatcher Legend, Retrieved July 20, 2008.</ref> Feathers are then connected to the finished product, connected either by further sinew or, as was also common, stalk of the stinging nettle.<ref name=dreamcatcher/>
===Ojibwa===
 
The Ojibwe people tell of how, many moons ago, Spider Woman brought the sun back to the sky each day. But when the Ojibwe nation spread to the ends of the world, she began to find it difficult to make the journey for all of her people. Instead, she directed the mothers, sisters and grandmothers to weave a magical web for new babies using willow hoops. These dreamcatchers would allow only good dreams to enter the babies’ minds when they were asleep. The circle of the hoop was a symbol of the sun. The web was to connect to the hoop in eight places to represent Spider Woman’s eight legs or in seven places to represent The Seven Prophecies. A feather in the center of a baby’s dreamcatcher represented breath and life. Adults did not have a feather in the center of their dreamcatchers but instead kept a feather in their possession.  
 
  
===Chippewa===
+
These dreamcatchers were often made by grandmothers or grandfathers of newborn infants and hung above their cradle boards. In Ojibwe tradition, the night air is filled with dreams—good and bad—and newborns are unable to defend against the bad ones. Thus, because bad dreams are both confused and confusing, they get caught in the "web" of the dreamcatcher. Trapped, the bad dreams are then evaporated by the morning sun, as happens with [[dew]] on [[grass]]. Good dreams, however, are peaceful and make their way through the web, down the feathers, and to the child. The slightest movement of the feathers indicates pleasant dreams.<ref name=dreamcatcher/>
The Chippewa believed that the dreamcatcher was first made when the wise medicine woman of the tribe told the tribe mothers to weave a spider’s web with love from a willow hoop to chase away the evil spirits that came to terrify their children in the night. She told them to leave an opening in the center like an open heart so that good things could pass through onto those that sleep and bad things could get caught in the web and vanish with the morning light.
 
  
===Lakota===
+
Dreamcatchers, constructed from organic materials, are not meant to last forever; instead, they are designed to disintegrate over time, as the child grows into an adult.
The Lakota tell of the tribe elder who long, long ago had a vision on a mountaintop. Iktomi, the great teacher, appeared to him in the form of a spider and spoke to him. As he spoke, he spun a web on a hoop of feathers, horse hairs and beads. Iktomi spoke of the cycles of life and how human choices could affect the harmony of nature. He gave the elder the hoop and pointed out how the web was a perfect circle with a hole in its center. He explained how belief in the Great Spirit would allow the hoop to catch good dreams, letting the bad dreams go through the hole in the center of the hoop. Iktomi told how the web would help his people make good use of their ideas and visions.
+
[[Image:hanging dreamcatcher.jpg|250px|left|thumb|A dreamcatcher. The good dreams find their way to the center, down the feathers, and to the sleeping person it protects.]]
  
 +
==Legends==
 +
===Ojibwa===
 +
According to Ojibwe legend, long ago, Asibikaashi (Spider Woman) brought the sun back to the sky each day. However, as the Ojibwe Nation spread to the ends of the earth, her task became more laborious and Spider Woman began to find it difficult to make the trek for all of her people. Rather, she directed mothers, sisters, and grandmothers to weave magical webs for new babies using hoops made from willow twigs. Called dreamcatchers, they would allow only pleasant dreams to enter the babies' minds as they slept.<ref name=art/>
  
 +
The circle of the hoops represented the [[sun]]. The web's connection with the hoops in eight places represented the eight legs of Spider Woman. When the web only connects in seven places, this represents the [[Seven Prophecies]] (a prophecy marking the seven epochs of Turtle Island—or North America). Feathers in the center of the dreamcatcher represented spirit (breath) and life. Adults kept a [[feather]] in their possession rather than on their dreamcatcher.<ref name=art/>
  
[[Image:dreamcatcher.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Dreamcatchers.]]
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The Ojibwa believe that a dreamcatcher filters a person's dreams. Bad dreams are caught in the web, to be burned away by the morning sun, while good dreams are guided through a small hole in the center, and then to the feathers and into the sleeper's head.<ref name=legends>A collection of Dreamcatcher Lore, [http://www.cynaunltd.com/dreamcatcher_legends.htm Dreamcatcher Legends.] Retrieved July 20, 2008.</ref>
While dreamcatchers originated in the [[Ojibwa]] Nation, during the [[pan-Indian movement]] of the [[1960s]] and [[1970s]] they were adopted by [[Native Americans of the United States|Native American]]s of a number of different Nations.  They came to be seen by some as a symbol of unity among the various Indian Nations, and as a general symbol of identification with Native American or [[First Nations]] cultures.  However, some Native Americans have come to see them as "tacky" and over-commercialized due to their acceptance in popular culture.<ref>[http://www.native-languages.org/dreamcatchers.htm Native American Dreamcatchers<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref>
+
<br clear="all">
  
Traditionally, the Ojibwa construct dreamcatchers by tying sinew strands in a web around a small round or tear-shaped frame of willow (in a way roughly similar to their method for making [[snowshoe]] webbing).  The resulting "dream-catcher", hung above the bed, is then used as a charm to protect sleeping children from nightmares.  Dreamcatchers made of [[willow]] and [[sinew]] are not meant to last forever but instead are intended to dry out and collapse over time as the child enters the age of adulthood.  
+
===Lakota===
 +
The Lakota tell of the tribe elder who long, long ago had a vision on a mountaintop. Iktomi, the great teacher, appeared to him in the form of a spider and spoke to him. As he spoke, he spun a web on a hoop of feathers, horse hairs, and beads. Iktomi spoke of the [[Life cycle|cycles of life]] and how [[human beings|human]] choices could affect the harmony of [[nature]]. He gave the elder the hoop and pointed out how the web was a perfect [[circle]] with a hole in its center. He explained how belief in the Great Spirit would allow the hoop to catch good dreams, letting the bad dreams go through the hole in the center of the hoop. Iktomi told how the web would help his people make good use of their ideas and visions.
  
The Ojibwa believe that a dreamcatcher filters a person's dreams. According to Terri J. Andrews in the article "Legend of the Dream Catcher," about the Ojibwa nation in the magazine ''World & I'', Nov. 1998 page 204, "Only good dreams would be allowed to filter through . . .  Bad dreams would stay in the net, disappearing with the light of day."
+
Another tale, by an unknown author, explained that a [[Shaman]], who had been very ill, was plagued with bad dreams visions.<ref name=legends/> In an effort to get well, he slept with a [[Medicine Wheel]], but one night a spider found its way down to the wheel and began to spin a web. After a very short time, the web covered the wheel, except for a small hole in the wheel's center. As if it had been intended, an [[owl]] soared above in the dark of night, shedding a feather, which floated down, becoming caught in the web, where it hung from the center hole. The following morning, the Shaman awoke as the sun rose, from a peaceful sleep that had been free of bad dreams. In addition, his illness was gone. He felt that his medicine wheel must be the explanation, but he was astonished to see the web and feather hanging from the hole. Thus, the dream catcher was born.<ref name=legends/>
  
It's recommended to hang the dream catcher above someone sleeping to guard against bad dreams. Good dreams pass through and slide down the feathers to the sleeper.
+
The Lakota dreamcatcher works in a slightly different manner than the Ojibwe dreamcatcher. The Lakota believe that good dreams are caught by the web, almost as if they were picked out of the air, and then are carried with the dreamcatcher's owner for the rest of his or her days. Bad dreams, however, pass through the hole in the center as completely harmless. The dreamcatcher also only worked if the user believed in the [[Great Spirit]].<ref name=legends/> They believe the dreamcatcher holds the [[destiny]] of their future.
 
 
Another legend ([[Lakota]]), according to [[St. Joseph's Indian School]] in [[Chamberlain, South Dakota]], "Good dreams pass through the center hole to the sleeping person. The bad dreams are trapped in the web, where they perish in the light of dawn."
 
 
 
[[Image:Dreamcatcher grape vine.jpg|thumb|225px|right|Close up of modern, non-traditional dreamcatcher made of grape vine and sinew with turquoise stones surrounding a large quartz crystal. Made by Dreamcatcher.com]]
 
  
 
==Popularization==
 
==Popularization==
In the course of becoming popular outside of the Ojibwa Nation, and then outside of the pan-Indian communities, "dreamcatchers" are now made, exhibited and sold by some [[New age]] groups and individuals. According to [[Philip Jenkins]], this is considered by most traditional Native peoples and their supporters to be an undesirable form of [[cultural appropriation]].<ref>{{cite book | first =Philip | last =Jenkins | authorlink = | coauthors = | year =2004 | month =September | title =Dream Catchers: How Mainstream America Discovered Native Spirituality  | chapter = | editor = | others = | edition = | pages = | publisher =Oxford University Press | location =New York | id = | url = |ISBN =0195161157}}</ref>
+
[[Image:Round dreamcatcher.jpg|200px|right|thumb|A more commercial, popular style of dreamcatcher.]]
 +
In the course of becoming popular outside of the Ojibwa Nation, and then outside of the [[pan-Indian communities]], "dreamcatchers" are now made, exhibited, and sold by some [[New age]] groups and individuals. According to [[Philip Jenkins]], this is considered by most traditional Native peoples and their supporters to be an undesirable form of [[cultural appropriation]].
  
The official portrait of [[Ralph Klein]], former Premier of the [[Canada|Canadian]] province of [[Alberta]] and whose wife Colleen Klein is Metis, incorporates a dreamcatcher.<ref>{{cite web
+
The official portrait of [[Ralph Klein]], former Premier of the [[Canada|Canadian]] province of [[Alberta]] and whose wife Colleen Klein is [[Metis]] (one of [[First Nations|Canada's aboriginal peoples]]), incorporates a dreamcatcher.<ref>Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2007/08/30/klein-portrait.html?ref=rss Ralph Klein breaks tradition in legislature portrait], ''CBC News'', August 30, 2007, Retrieved July 20, 2008.</ref>
  | title = Ralph Klein breaks tradition in legislature portrait
 
  | publisher = Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
 
  | date = [[2007-08-31]]
 
  | url = http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2007/08/30/klein-portrait.html?ref=rss}}</ref>
 
 
 
During the pan-Indian movement in the 60's and 70's, Ojibway dreamcatchers started to get popular in other Native American tribes, even those in disparate places like the Cherokee, Lakota, and Navajo. So dreamcatchers aren't traditional in most Indian cultures, per se, but they're sort of neo-traditional, like frybread. Today you see them hanging in lots of places other than a child's cradleboard or nursery, like the living room or your rearview mirror. Some Indians think dream-catchers are a sweet and loving little tradition, others consider them a symbol of native unity, and still others think of them as sort of the Indian equivalent of a tacky plastic Jesus hanging in your truck.<ref name=languages>Native Languages, [http://www.native-languages.org/dreamcatchers.htm Dream Catchers.] Retrieved July 2, 2008.</ref>  
 
  
 +
Ojibway dreamcatchers started to become popular in other Native American tribes during the pan-Native American movement of the 1960s and 1970s, even becoming popular in such disparate places as those of the [[Cherokee]], [[Lakota]], and [[Navajo]]. Thus dreamcatchers aren't traditional in most Indian cultures, per se, but rather are a kind of neo-traditional.<ref name=languages/> Today they are popularly found hanging in many places other than a child's cradle board or nursery, such as in living room or on a car's rear view mirror. Some Native Americans think of dream-catchers as a sweet, harmless, and loving little [[tradition]], others consider them a symbol of native [[unity]], and still others think of them as a tacky, simplistic, thoughtless perversion of something sacred.<ref name=languages/>
  
 +
Dreamcatchers were also featured prominently in the [[Stephen King]] novel and film adaptation, ''Dreamcatcher.''
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
<!--This article uses the Cite.php citation mechanism. If you would like more information on how to add footnotes to this article, please see http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cite/Cite.php —>
 
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
  
==See also==
+
==References==
* [[Mandala]]
+
*Carson, Dale. ''A dreamcatcher book: with some Indian dream wisdom.'' Washington, CT: Birdstone Publishers, The Institute for American Indian Studies, 1997. ISBN 978-0936322070
* [[God's eye]]
+
*Cooney, Linda, and Judith Mitchell. ''Dreamcatcher magic.'' Tempe, Ariz: Leisure Time Pub., 1994. {{OCLC|33268978}}
 +
*Jenkins, Philip. ''Dream Catchers: How Mainstream America Discovered Native Spirituality.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0195189100
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
{{commons|Category:Dreamcatchers|Dreamcatcher}}
+
All links retrieved October 10, 2017.
* [http://www.doi.gov/iacb/act.html The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990]
+
* [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sunrise/46-96-7/ms-lakot.htm Legend of the Dreamcatcher]
+
* [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sunrise/46-96-7/ms-lakot.htm Legend of the Dreamcatcher.]
 +
 
 +
[[Category:Beliefs and customs]]
 +
[[Category:Cultural anthropology]]
  
 
{{Credits|216856414}}
 
{{Credits|216856414}}

Revision as of 19:14, 16 August 2020

Dreamcatchers roughly based on native designs are popular throughout North and South America.

A dreamcatcher is a sacred Native American object that consists of a ring of red willow, or other similarly common and pliable bark, held together by a web of sinew or fiber, connecting to the ring in seven or eight places. At the base of the dreamcatcher, there are several feathers. Although the origin of the dreamcatcher is unclear, due to the damage done to Native American culture by European colonizers, it is theorized that they originated among the Ojibwe tribe of Native Americans, but as disparate groups of Native American tribes came together in the 1960s and 1970s (known as the Pan-Indian Movement), the tradition spread.

Dreamcatchers are used to encourage good dreams. Ojibwe and Lakota lore depicts them as either trapping good or bad dreams, but the feathers almost always direct the good dreams to the sleeping owner of the dreamcatcher. The Native Americans believed strongly in the spiritual realm, as well as in the power of dreams—things modern scholars are still baffled by and investigating.

Cultural beliefs and customs
Talisman, Amulets, Lucky Charms
Rabbit's foot | Horseshoe | Nazar | Hamsa
Apotrope | Touch pieces | Kombolói
Worry stone | Amulet | Maneki Neko | Agimat
Pentagram | Friendship ball | Bullaun
Okiagari-koboshi | Hex sign | O-fuda
Painted pebbles | Worry doll
Good Omens & Blessings
Four-leaf clover | Lady bug | Djucu | Nettles
Bad Omens & Curses
Black cat | Death Coach | Black Witch Moth
Evil eye | Witch's ladder | Hope Diamond
Friday the 13th | Toyol | Witching hour
Protective Items & Practices
Door gods | Dōsojin | Dreamcatcher | Kulam
Guardians of the directions | Lion dance
Imperial guardian lion | Carranca | Smudging
Gate guardian | Dol hareubang
Figurehead | Devotional medals
Wishes, prayers & petitions
Wishing well | Falling star | Daruma doll
Birthday candles | Wishbone | Ema | Kulam
Votive candle
Telling Fortunes / Predicting the Future
Crystal ball | Palmreading | Reading tea Leaves
Reading Rice | Reading Coffee dregs
Tarot Cards | I Ching
Ancestors, Spirits, Ghosts
Joss paper | Hell bank note | Will-o'-the-wisp
Legends, folklore, superstitions

History

The origins of the dreamcatcher are quite unclear, mostly due to the loss of much Native American history during European contact, colonization, and forced relocations. It should come as no surprise that the persecution of the Native Americans had such a detrimental impact on their history. Yet, legends surrounding the dreamcatcher exist in nearly all tribes across North America, and most of those legends revolve around similar themes: Spirits, spiders, and most prominently, dreams.[1]

The first documented observation of the dreamcatcher was in 1929, among the Ojibwe (known then as the Chippewa), by ethnographer Frances Densmore. Many believe that dreamcatchers indeed originated in the Ojibwa Nation, and that during the pan-Indian movement of the 1960s and 1970s, they were adopted by Native Americans of a number of different Nations in an effort to show solidarity. They came to be seen by some as a symbol of unity among the various Indian Nations, and as a general symbol of identification with Native American or First Nations cultures. However, some Native Americans have come to see them as "tacky" and over-commercialized due to their acceptance in popular culture.[2]

Traditionally, the Ojibwa construct dreamcatchers by tying sinew strands in a web around a small round or tear-shaped frame of willow (in a way roughly similar to their method for making snowshoe webbing). In fact, red willow, common in many parts of the United States, was originally used, along with red twig dogwood and other members of the willow family.[3] Feathers are then connected to the finished product, connected either by further sinew or, as was also common, stalk of the stinging nettle.[3]

These dreamcatchers were often made by grandmothers or grandfathers of newborn infants and hung above their cradle boards. In Ojibwe tradition, the night air is filled with dreams—good and bad—and newborns are unable to defend against the bad ones. Thus, because bad dreams are both confused and confusing, they get caught in the "web" of the dreamcatcher. Trapped, the bad dreams are then evaporated by the morning sun, as happens with dew on grass. Good dreams, however, are peaceful and make their way through the web, down the feathers, and to the child. The slightest movement of the feathers indicates pleasant dreams.[3]

Dreamcatchers, constructed from organic materials, are not meant to last forever; instead, they are designed to disintegrate over time, as the child grows into an adult.

A dreamcatcher. The good dreams find their way to the center, down the feathers, and to the sleeping person it protects.

Legends

Ojibwa

According to Ojibwe legend, long ago, Asibikaashi (Spider Woman) brought the sun back to the sky each day. However, as the Ojibwe Nation spread to the ends of the earth, her task became more laborious and Spider Woman began to find it difficult to make the trek for all of her people. Rather, she directed mothers, sisters, and grandmothers to weave magical webs for new babies using hoops made from willow twigs. Called dreamcatchers, they would allow only pleasant dreams to enter the babies' minds as they slept.[1]

The circle of the hoops represented the sun. The web's connection with the hoops in eight places represented the eight legs of Spider Woman. When the web only connects in seven places, this represents the Seven Prophecies (a prophecy marking the seven epochs of Turtle Island—or North America). Feathers in the center of the dreamcatcher represented spirit (breath) and life. Adults kept a feather in their possession rather than on their dreamcatcher.[1]

The Ojibwa believe that a dreamcatcher filters a person's dreams. Bad dreams are caught in the web, to be burned away by the morning sun, while good dreams are guided through a small hole in the center, and then to the feathers and into the sleeper's head.[4]

Lakota

The Lakota tell of the tribe elder who long, long ago had a vision on a mountaintop. Iktomi, the great teacher, appeared to him in the form of a spider and spoke to him. As he spoke, he spun a web on a hoop of feathers, horse hairs, and beads. Iktomi spoke of the cycles of life and how human choices could affect the harmony of nature. He gave the elder the hoop and pointed out how the web was a perfect circle with a hole in its center. He explained how belief in the Great Spirit would allow the hoop to catch good dreams, letting the bad dreams go through the hole in the center of the hoop. Iktomi told how the web would help his people make good use of their ideas and visions.

Another tale, by an unknown author, explained that a Shaman, who had been very ill, was plagued with bad dreams visions.[4] In an effort to get well, he slept with a Medicine Wheel, but one night a spider found its way down to the wheel and began to spin a web. After a very short time, the web covered the wheel, except for a small hole in the wheel's center. As if it had been intended, an owl soared above in the dark of night, shedding a feather, which floated down, becoming caught in the web, where it hung from the center hole. The following morning, the Shaman awoke as the sun rose, from a peaceful sleep that had been free of bad dreams. In addition, his illness was gone. He felt that his medicine wheel must be the explanation, but he was astonished to see the web and feather hanging from the hole. Thus, the dream catcher was born.[4]

The Lakota dreamcatcher works in a slightly different manner than the Ojibwe dreamcatcher. The Lakota believe that good dreams are caught by the web, almost as if they were picked out of the air, and then are carried with the dreamcatcher's owner for the rest of his or her days. Bad dreams, however, pass through the hole in the center as completely harmless. The dreamcatcher also only worked if the user believed in the Great Spirit.[4] They believe the dreamcatcher holds the destiny of their future.

Popularization

A more commercial, popular style of dreamcatcher.

In the course of becoming popular outside of the Ojibwa Nation, and then outside of the pan-Indian communities, "dreamcatchers" are now made, exhibited, and sold by some New age groups and individuals. According to Philip Jenkins, this is considered by most traditional Native peoples and their supporters to be an undesirable form of cultural appropriation.

The official portrait of Ralph Klein, former Premier of the Canadian province of Alberta and whose wife Colleen Klein is Metis (one of Canada's aboriginal peoples), incorporates a dreamcatcher.[5]

Ojibway dreamcatchers started to become popular in other Native American tribes during the pan-Native American movement of the 1960s and 1970s, even becoming popular in such disparate places as those of the Cherokee, Lakota, and Navajo. Thus dreamcatchers aren't traditional in most Indian cultures, per se, but rather are a kind of neo-traditional.[2] Today they are popularly found hanging in many places other than a child's cradle board or nursery, such as in living room or on a car's rear view mirror. Some Native Americans think of dream-catchers as a sweet, harmless, and loving little tradition, others consider them a symbol of native unity, and still others think of them as a tacky, simplistic, thoughtless perversion of something sacred.[2]

Dreamcatchers were also featured prominently in the Stephen King novel and film adaptation, Dreamcatcher.

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Diana Blake, Legends of the Native American Dreamcatcher, Art History, Bella Online: The Voice of Women. Retrieved July 20, 2008.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Native Languages, Dream Catchers, Native Languages of the Americas website. Retrieved July 20, 2008.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Dream-Catchers.org, What is a Dream Catcher?, Understanding the Dreamcatcher Legend, Retrieved July 20, 2008.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 A collection of Dreamcatcher Lore, Dreamcatcher Legends. Retrieved July 20, 2008.
  5. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Ralph Klein breaks tradition in legislature portrait, CBC News, August 30, 2007, Retrieved July 20, 2008.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Carson, Dale. A dreamcatcher book: with some Indian dream wisdom. Washington, CT: Birdstone Publishers, The Institute for American Indian Studies, 1997. ISBN 978-0936322070
  • Cooney, Linda, and Judith Mitchell. Dreamcatcher magic. Tempe, Ariz: Leisure Time Pub., 1994. OCLC 33268978
  • Jenkins, Philip. Dream Catchers: How Mainstream America Discovered Native Spirituality. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0195189100

External links

All links retrieved October 10, 2017.

Credits

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