The history of dream catchers (or Indian dreamcatchers) can be traced to the Native American Ojibway Chippewa tribe. The Ojibways would tie strands of sinew string around a frame of bent wood that was in a small round or tear drop shape. The patterns of the dream catcher would be similar to how the Ojibways tied the webbing for their snowshoes (the Ojibways were located far enough north that they experienced all four seasons)..
Traditionally, Indian dream catchers were only a few inches across and it would be finished with a feather hanging from the webbing. Wrapping the frame in leather would also be common.
Originally, dream catchers were made as a charm to protect sleeping children from nightmares. The legend is that the dream catcher will catch one’s dreams during the night. Bad dreams will get caught in the dream catcher’s webbing and disappear with the morning sun.
Meanwhile, good dreams will find their way to the center of the dream catcher and float down the feather. The dream catcher is therefore considered a filter allowing only good, pleasant dreams to get through. Dream catchers are also believed to bless those who are sleeping with good luck and harmony.
Dream catchers started to get popular in other Native Indian tribes such as Cherokee, Lakota and Navajo. Today, dream catchers are made in practically every Native Indian tribe in the United States and Canada. Pretty well any Native Indian event such as pow wows or festivals will have authentic dream catchers for sale. The dream catcher was even featured in an episode of the Star Trek Voyageur television science fiction series.
However, like many other Native Indian crafts, cheaply made dream catchers have been recently mass produced by non-natives and foreign souvenir producers in Asia. So it is very important when shopping on the internet for a Native Indian dreamcatcher that one deals only with reputable businesses dealing with authentic dream catchers made by Native Indian artisans.
In addition to children’s nurseries, dream catchers today are hung in windows, heads of beds, walls and even on the rear view mirrors of vehicles.
Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery (http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca) , an online gallery specializing in Inuit Eskimo and Northwest Native American art including carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and Native Indian art as well as free eCards.
