The Story of the Dream Catcher

 

  With the great interest in Native American culture in the last few years  
 and the commercialization of the artwork of the different nations  (tribes),   many legends as well as myths of the different tribes are being  lost.    These are even being intertwined so one cannot truly know what is fact   are not.  This is truly sad as, there are many great Native American
  tribes on this continent.  Of which each has it’s own history, culture,
  myths, and society, all of which was passed from our ancestors.

  In this modern age dream catchers are made by many Native American’s
  from many Nations, as well as non native American’s.  Many people are
  under the impression that the Sioux (Lakota, and the Dakota tribes)
  according to Sioux Legend is origin of the dream catcher.   Frances
  Densmore conducted an extensive study of the material culture of the
  Chippewa (Ojibwa) nation in the early 1900's his studies were published
  in the book, Chippewa Customs, published by Minnesota Historical
  Society Press (St. Paul) in 1979. In which he describes that articles
  representing spider webs were usually hung from a child's cradleboard,
  and it was believed that 'they catch and hold everything evil as a spider's
  web catches and holds everything that comes into contact with it'. He also
  mentions a similar netted-hoop made by the Pawnee to represent the
  Spider-Woman, a spirit who controlled the buffalo.  Due to the popularity
  of the dream catcher there has been quite a discussion about the origin of
  the dream catcher.
  
  A look at the long tradition of storytelling, passed down parent to child,
  generation after generation, clears up any confusion about the origin of
  dream catchers

Many will dispute this….

The Dream Catcher was originally made by the Chippewa (Ojibwa), from a hoop of bent willow with a webbing.

  In the Native American culture a lot of symbols evolved around the hoop,
  one of these was the Dream Catcher.  Using a hoop of willow bits and
  pieces of everyday life, it is believed to have the power to catch all of a
  person's dreams, filtering out the bad ones, letting only the good dreams
  pass through. Many Native American tribes believe that the night air is
  filled with dreams both good and bad. The dream catcher when hung in a
  place of rest, swinging freely with the air, catches the dreams as they 
  flow by. The good dreams can slip through the outer holes and slide down
  the soft feathers so gently that many times the sleeper does not know
  that they are dreaming. The bad dreams, get tangled in the web and
  perish with the first light of the new day. As does the dew collected on a
  spider web.

  It is traditional, to put a feather in the center of the dream catcher, it
  stands for air. Which is essential for all life.  The feather can represent 
  a couple of things.  The feather of an owl (a woman's feather) is kept for
  wisdom.  The eagle feather (a man's feather) is kept for courage.   Native
  Americans, in general, are very specific about gender roles and identity, 
  (this is changing somewhat today).  This is not to say that the use of a
  specific feather is restricted by gender, but to use a specific feather we
  are aware of the gender properties we are invoking.

  The use of stones  in the dream catchers of today, were not used in the
   past. The use of four stones is to represent the four directions.  In the
   past these would have been feathers from the sacred birds, the eagle
   and  owl.  Governmental  laws have forbidden the sale of these birds
   feathers today.  As a result stones are used.

Basic Chippewa Story

  The Clans of the Chippewa (Ojibwa) Nation of long ago, were all  located
   in one general area around the Great Lakes region .  Chippewa’s have
   many ancient stories about the dream catcher, how it came to be, why it
   is used, and how it should be made.  Chippewa storytellers tell how the
   Asibikaashi (Spider Woman) would build her lodge before dawn. You
   should look for her lodge and you will see this miracle of how she has
   captured the sunrise as the light sparkles on the dew that is gathered on
   her web.  To fill a prophecy the Chippewa Nation dispersed to the four
   corners of North America.   Asibikaashi had a difficult time making her
   journey to all the cradleboards.  Asibikaasi took care of the people then
  as she continues to do so to this day.  The mothers took up the practice 
  of weaving the magical webs for their babies using willow hoops and    
   sinew.  They were made in the shape of a circle to represent how giizis
   (the sun) travels across the sky.