Tribal Dream Catcher

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ARIZONA SUN RISE Tribal Authentic Cherokee Dream Catcher. Atlanta Falcons NFL Team Ornament. Autumn SUN RISE Authentic Cherokee Dream Catcher. Tribal Dream Catcher Long Seed Bead Dangle Fashion Earrings - Native American Ethnic Southwest Beadwork Multicolored Handmade Gifts for Her SpiritGypsyCreations. From shop SpiritGypsyCreations. 5 out of 5 stars (755) 755 reviews $ 10.00 FREE shipping Favorite Add to. In many Native American tribes, a dream catcher is a handmade willow hoop woven to a web or literally, a net. They can include feathers and beads, and they're traditionally suspended on cradles as a form of armor and protection. Dream catchers can be traced back to the Ojibwes. May 12, 2020 Although dreamcatchers are usually associated with the Native American culture as a whole, they actually originated from the Ojibwa Chippewa tribe of Canada and the United States. The Ojibwa word for ‘dreamcatcher’ asabikeshiinh, literally means ‘spider’.

If dreamcatchers protect children from nightmares, Carol Edwards is ensuring that all the kids in Tuolumne County have sweet dreams. Edwards, 52, of Sonora, is hoping her dreamcatcher — 28.3 feet in circumference and 9 feet in diameter — will make the pages of the “Guinness Book of World Records.” If you are interested you can write the article author at rhowes@uniondemcrat.com

ANDRÉ'S NOTEI am an enrolled member of the Karuk Tribe. We do not make dreamcatchers. This woman is guilty of cultural appropriation.
please read: http://www.aaanativearts.com/article225.html
Though some tribal members say they see no problem with the practice, others regard the marketing of dream catchers as another example of their culture being picked apart. When Millie Benjamin was growing up, she spent her nights sleeping under a dream catcher, a traditional Indian object believed to ward off nightmares. Benjamin drew comfort from her dream catcher. These days, though, she shakes her head to see them worn as earrings, hanging from car windshields and even sold as key chains in convenience stores. 'It has gotten out of hand. It's disrespectful for our people. It means something to us, it's a tradition,' said Benjamin, a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Benjamin isn't the only American Indian dismayed by the marketing of dream catchers. Though some tribal members say they see no problem with the practice, others regard the marketing of dream catchers as another example of their culture being picked apart. 'In order to be a good, traditional person, you have to live that life. There's things you have a right to wear and things you do not,' Benjamin said. According to Indian tradition, dream catchers should resemble a spider web and are to be placed above a baby's cradle. The web filters out nightmares, allowing only good dreams to pass through to the sleeping child below. A dream catcher is supposed to be made in intricate, ceremonial steps that include giving thanks for the spirit of the wood used in it. Those steps fall by the wayside when a person buys a make-it-yourself kit from a discount store, says Gerald White, a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. 'The dream catcher, to us, is a sacred item,' White said. 'It's lost a lot of meaning, even in our own tribe. It's like losing our language, our culture -- another symptom of a larger thing.' White acknowledges that dream catchers are an important source of money for some Indians. Indeed, since the terror attacks of September 11, business has picked up, says Colleen Heminger-Cordell. Heminger-Cordell, a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, has been making dream catchers since she took one apart and learned to put it together again 15 years ago. Her work, starting at $14.95 for a 3-inch dream catcher, is sold everywhere from a Paris boutique to a Sioux City, Iowa, strip mall. Most orders are from non-Indians who want more than 100 at a time, she said. 'I just never thought there would be that big of a market,' Heminger-Cordell said of the post-Sept. 11 demand. 'Companies are buying them wholesale.' Heminger-Cordell says she's never known anyone to be upset by her dream catchers, even though she sometimes embellishes them beyond the traditionally simple twine-and-wood design to satisfy personal requests, like a pink or blue catcher to give as a baby gift. At Lake Mille Lacs, the shiny string in Ruth Garbow's dream catchers reflects sparkles of light throughout the gift shop at the tribe's museum. Garbow, an Ojibwe, had a dream catcher over her bed as a child, as did her son. Now, Garbow makes the catchers and says it's important that customers understand their meaning. She sees the dream catchers as a chance for her to display her talents. 'If people like and enjoy having Indian crafts. I feel great,' Garbow said. But Garbow puts limits on the selling of Indian culture, including jewelry that uses the four colors of the medicine wheel -- which are supposed to be restricted to certain rites -- and some ceremonial dresses. 'People tend to adopt things they like from other cultures, of course, but they may just put it on because of what it looks like without thinking where it comes from and what it's for. You don't really care for that culture then,' White said.Dark Feather Red Eagle, a storyteller and elder of the Pine Ridge Lakota Sioux, learned how to make dream catchers from a Cree woman three decades ago. He has sold more than 1,000 dream catchers in six years, ranging in color from aqua to peach. Selling at $3 to $35 apiece, the dream catchers are made by his family at their Crowley, Texas, home. Red Eagle, 79, said no one has objected to his work. He would never sell sacred objects like medicine pouches and ceremonial pipes, he said. 'A dream catcher is supposed to serve a purpose as far as dreams are concerned, as far as children are concerned, and that's not something that's meant to be sacred,' Red Eagle said. Shortly after she was born on the Coutchiching reservation in Canada, Martha Jourdain had a dream catcher placed over her cradle. When she was expecting children of her own, Jourdain made dream catchers using ceremonial rites taught by her ancestors. Now, she's taught her own children the tradition. Jourdain, who is a cultural assistant with the Fond du Lac tribe in northern Minnesota, thinks dream catchers should be given away, not sold. 'It's kind of like they're making a mockery of it because it's a sacred item and sold in convenience stores all over,' Jourdain said. Recently, Jourdain has been teaching her children how to make traditional dance outfits, another item that has been showing up in shops around the country. 'There's nothing I can do about it,' Jourdain said. 'It's happening everywhere.' Benjamin finds comfort in knowing the truth behind the dream catcher. 'As long as I know what it really means, I'm happy, and that's what I teach my children,' she said. 'We know what it is and what it does.'

Introduction to the Legend

Everyone dreams. Psychologists such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung have tried to interpret dreams and our subconscious thoughts. Though these modern scientists have provided multiple theories and vast quantities of written analysis, they are by no means the first to have taken on this eternal and elusive subject.
Dream interpretation has directly influenced Native American cultural and spiritual beliefs for centuries. American Indians believe dreams influence the conscious soul of the dreamer, oftentimes acting as a means for change in personality traits such as confidence, maturity, kindness, and loyalty.

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More About Dream Catchers

Dreams have always been a fundamental part of Ojibwe culture and have many purposes.

  • Prophecies: Dreams can show future events that will affect a tribe or individual person.
  • Names: Spiritual leaders can receive the name of a newborn child through dreams.
  • Spiritual Strength: Many Ojibwe people pray, meditate, and fast in order to bring on dreams that will give them spiritual guidance during difficult times.
  • Symbolism: Dreamers will often see a symbol that has personal meaning to them throughout their lives. Many Ojibwe make a charm to keep with them to remind them of the symbol. Some even take them to the grave when they die for strength in the afterlife.

The Ojibwe people, often referred to by their anglicized name, 'Chippewa', so insightfully understood the importance of dreams, especially in children, that they attempted to assist a child’s ability to receive good dreams and filter out dark or negative dreams with the use of a dream catcher.

What is a Dreamcatcher?

Frances Densmore, a renowned ethnographer who dedicated decades of her life to working with many Native American tribes, including the Ojibwe, wrote in her 1929 book, Chippewa Customs, about the longstanding existence of dream catchers:
Infants were given protective charms in the shape of “spiderwebs” that were hung on the hoop of a cradleboard. Traditionally, two spider webs were hung on the hoop, and it was said that they protected the child from harmful dreams and other dangers passing through the air.
In other words, a dream catcher would trap the bad dreams that blew freely in the night air and keep them from entering the mind of those it protected.

History of the Dreamcatcher

In her writings, Densmore dispels a common misunderstanding of the Ojibwe dream catcher by indicating that its purpose was to ensnare harmful influences in its web, thereby keeping them from reaching the dreams of children.

The Ojibwe people believe that the dream catcher’s web will trap bad dreams or dark spirits, thereby allowing the good dreams to escape through a small hole in the center and enter the child’s dream.
Beyond the protection and enhancement of children’s dreams, dream catchers were believed to have worked equally as effective for adults and families. Many Ojibwe lodges had a dream catcher hanging above the family’s sleeping area in order to filter bad spirits from all of their dreams.
As intermarriage and trade contact with other tribes increased, the concept of dream catchers spread to nearby tribes such as the Lakota who, over time, developed their own traditions.
In modern times, particularly during the American Indian Movement (AIM) of the 1960s and 1970s, when a pan-Indian mindset developed in the United States, many other tribes accepted the concept of dream catchers and incorporated them into their own cultures as a way of retaining traditional spirituality.
Today, only 40 years since the AIM movement took place, the common misconception remains that dream catchers have always been an integral part of most Native American cultures. But the truth is that mainly the Ojibwe people and Lakota were the early adopters and until more recently, were the only possessors of the traditional dream catcher.

Two Dreamcatcher Legends

Dream catchers have two legends about their beginnings; one told by the Ojibwe and another told later by the Lakota after they learned about them through trade and intermarriage with the Ojibwe people.
Ojibwe Legend
A grandmother watched patiently each day as a spider spun his web above her sleeping place until one day her grandson noticed the spider and tried to kill it.
“Don’t hurt him,” she told the boy in a soft tone, surprising him.
“But grandmother, you should not protect this spider.”
When the grandson left, the spider thanked the woman for her protection and offered her a gift. “I will spin you a web that hangs between you and the moon so that when you dream, it will snare the bad thoughts and keep them from you.”
At this, grandmother smiled and continued to watch the spider spin his web.
Lakota Legend
While receiving a spiritual vision high on a mountain, a Lakota leader met Iktomi, a trickster who also held great wisdom. Appearing to the leader in the form of a spider, Iktomi made a hoop of willow and spun a web inside of it.
He told the aged Lakota man that many forces, both bright and dark would attempt to enter peoples’ dreams and that the dream catcher he was making would catch the bright forces and allow the dark ones to slip away and burn up. Iktomi instructed the old man to make dream catchers for his people so they could all achieve a bright future by capturing the good dreams that are blown about by the winds of the night.
As you can see, in the Lakota version, dream catchers trap good dreams, just the opposite of the Ojibwe belief.

Design of the Dreamcatcher & What the Parts Mean


Catcher

Once again we turn to Frances Densmore to learn about dream catcher design in ancient times. She writes “These articles…consisted of wooden hoops about 3 ½ inches in diameter filled with an imitation of a spider’s web made of fine yarn, usually dyed red. In old times this netting was made of nettle fiber.”
Nearly every part of a dream catcher had a meaning.

  • Hoop: The wooden hoop was either circular or teardrop shaped. It served primarily as a frame for the web, but some believe it represents the circle of life.
  • Web: The web, traditionally patterned after a spider’s web, was to catch bad dreams (good for Lakota) and keep them from entering the dreamer’s head.
  • Feathers: Numerous purposes are assigned to feathers that hang from the hoop. Many believe they provide a soft ladder for the good dream to glide down and gently enter into the dreamer’s mind.

In more modern times makers have added other items to dream catchers.

  • Beads: A single bead often represents the spider that made the web. Many beads or hanging beads can represent good dreams that trapped during the night.
  • Gem Stones: Because it is illegal for most people to posses certain types of feathers, gem stones are now used to replace the symbolism feathers once held.
  • Arrowheads: For increased strength and protection, some makers add arrowheads. For other, arrowheads point to the four corners of the earth, directions from which the wind blows.

Design Variations & Commercialization

Since the common acceptance of dream catchers in the 1970s, many variations have appeared. The end-point weave of a spider web pattern is now uncommon, giving way to mid-point weaves, loops, stars, and other decorative, frilly patterns. The traditional use of feathers and beads is still in practice, but the symbolism only remains in non-commercial uses.
Some Native American individuals and groups feel that the commercialization of dream catchers is an unfortunate misappropriation of spiritual traditions, while others actively engage in their manufacture and sale.
Marketing and mass-production methods have left customary materials at the wayside in favor of easily obtained supplies such as fishing line instead of nettle fiber, balsa wood instead of willow, and synthetic feathers and beads. Many non-Natives also produce and sell dream catchers, further confusing the item’s important spiritual traditions.

Protecting the Culture of Dream Catchers

Fortunately, the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 prohibits manufacturers from suggesting that their products are Native-made or have any connection with a Native American group unless they are “a member of any federally or State recognized Indian Tribe, or an individual certified as an Indian artisan by an Indian Tribe.” Furthermore, listing the tribal affiliation of the producer of the items is required. This, at least, will allow consumers to know if they are purchasing an Ojibwe, Lakota, Cherokee, or some other design of dream catcher.

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Despite the many styles available today, and notwithstanding the different versions of the origin of dream catchers, they are very popular across cultural boundaries. Perhaps this widespread acceptance is a symbol itself of the power of dreams to affect reality.