Blog

Maybe you’ve read the Stephen King novel or crafted a dream catcher as a child. The basic tenets of a dream catcher as understood by those unfamiliar are as follows: dream catchers catch bad dreams, and allow good ones through to the dreamer. But are you aware of the rich history and meaning that surrounds this object of Native American culture?

The Ojibwe People, the fourth most populated group of indigenous peoples in the United States, were responsible for crafting the first dream catchers. The Ojibwe are a major part of the Anishinaabe-speaking peoples, which itself is a branch of the Algonquian language family. The Ojibwe now primarily reside in Canada.

Dreams and their purpose have always been central components of Ojibwe culture and belief. Spiritual leaders believed that dreams could contain prophecies and the names of newborn children in the tribe. When Ojibwe dreamers would see symbols in their dreams they would make charms to remind them of the symbol and use it to interpret their daily life.

Dreams were so central to Ojibwe culture that elders began to explore how to assist children in receiving good dreams while filtering out negative dreams to help them in their personal journey to adulthood. They constructed the first dream catchers, which consisted of two spider webs hung across the hoop of a cradleboard. The dream catchers were designed capture bad dreams that blew through the night air in the same manner a spider web would trap an errant fly.

As the tradition developed dream catchers were believed to be as effective for families and adults as they were for children. Ojibwe lodges would contain dream catchers near a family’s sleeping area to ward off bad spirits in the night. As tribes began to trade with one-another and intermarriage became more frequent, the dream catcher spread to other peoples like the Lakota tribe.

A typical dream catcher is only three to five inches across. It’s constructed with a willow wooden hoop, which symbolizes the circle of life. The “spider web” within the hoop is woven with nettle fiber or yarn. Feathers hang below the hoop, and serve as a gentle slide or ladder down which good dreams can glide toward the dreamer. In other tribes arrowheads and gemstones became popular additions.

As dream catchers became commercialized in the United States by the 1970s manufacturers stopped using natural materials and real feathers. These were replaced with synthetic, easily replicated supplies to cut costs.

Luckily, the Native American Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 does not allow manufacturers to claim a connection with any Native American group unless the manufacturer is “a member of any federally or State recognized Indian Tribe, or an individual certified as an Indian artisan by an Indian Tribe.”

Dream catchers are an integral part of Native American culture, providing a keen insight into the beliefs and practices of the peoples that populated America centuries ago.