In some Native American and

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

cultures, a dreamcatcher (, the inanimate form of the word for 'spider') is a handmade

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

hoop, on which is woven a

net NET may refer to: Broadcast media United States * National Educational Television, the predecessor of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States * National Empowerment Television, a politically conservative cable TV network ...

web Web most often refers to: * Spider web, a silken structure created by the animal * World Wide Web or the Web, an Internet-based hypertext system Web, WEB, or the Web may also refer to: Computing * WEB, a literate programming system created by ...

. It may also be decorated with sacred items such as certain feathers or beads. Traditionally, dreamcatchers are hung over a

cradle Cradle or Cradles may refer to: * Cradle (bed) * Bassinet, a small bed, often on rockers, in which babies and small children sleep Mechanical devices * Cradle (circus act), or aerial cradle or casting cradle used in an aerial circus act * Crad ...

or bed as protection. It originates in

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...

culture as "the spider web charm" – ''asubakacin'' 'net-like' ( White Earth Nation); ''bwaajige ngwaagan'' 'dream snare' (

Curve Lake First Nation Curve Lake First Nation () is a Mississauga Ojibway First Nation located in Peterborough County of Ontario. Curve Lake First Nation occupies three reserves; Curve Lake First Nation 35, Curve Lake 35A, and Islands in the Trent Waters Indian ...

) – a hoop with woven string or sinew meant to replicate a spider's web, used as a protective charm for infants. Dream catchers were adopted in the Pan-Indian Movement of the 1960s and 1970s and gained popularity as widely marketed "Native crafts items" in the 1980s.

Ojibwe origin

Ethnographer

Frances Densmore Frances Theresa Densmore (May 21, 1867 – June 5, 1957) was an American anthropologist and ethnographer from Minnesota. Densmore studied Native American music and culture, and in modern terms, she may be described as an ethnomusicol ...

in 1929 recorded an

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

legend according to which the "spiderwebs" protective charms originate with Spider Woman, known as ''Asibikaashi''; who takes care of the children and the people on the land. As the Ojibwe Nation spread to the corners of North America it became difficult for Asibikaashi to reach all the children.Densmore, Frances (1929, 1979) ''Chippewa Customs''. Minn. Hist. Soc. Press; pg. 113. So the mothers and grandmothers weave webs for the children, using willow hoops and sinew, or cordage made from plants. The purpose of these charms is

apotropaic Apotropaic magic (From ) or protective magic is a type of magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye. Apotropaic observances may also be practiced out of superstition or out of tr ...

and not explicitly connected with dreams:

Even infants were provided with protective charms. Examples of these are the "spiderwebs" hung on the hoop of a cradle board. In old times this netting was made of nettle fiber. Two spider webs were usually hung on the hoop, and it was said that they "caught any harm that might be in the air as a spider's web catches and holds whatever comes in contact with it."

Basil Johnston, an elder from Neyaashiinigmiing, in his ''Ojibway Heritage'' (1976) gives the story of Spider (, "little net maker") as a trickster figure catching Snake in his web.

Modern uses

While dreamcatchers continue to be used in a traditional manner in their communities and cultures of origin, derivative forms of dreamcatchers were adopted into the Pan-Indian movement of the 1960s and 1970s as a symbol of unity among the various Native American cultures, or as a general symbol of identification with Native American or

cultures."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. ... Most of what you see when you search for 'Native American dreamcatchers' are cheap objects mass-produced in an Asian sweatshop somewhere or glued together by non-native teenagers with eBay accounts, and these 'dreamcatchers' often bear only vague resemblance to the actual American Indian craft it is supposed to represent.
"Native American Dream catchers"
Native-Languages The name "dream catcher" was published in mainstream, non-Native media in the 1970s and became widely known as a Native crafts item by the 1980s. By the early 1990s, it was "one of the most popular and marketable" ones. In the course of becoming popular outside the Ojibwe Nation, and then outside the pan-Indian communities, various types of "dreamcatchers", many of which bear little resemblance to traditional styles, and that incorporate materials that would not be traditionally used, are now made, exhibited, and sold by

New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

groups and individuals. Many Native Americans have come to see these imitation dreamcatchers as over-commercialized, offensively misappropriated and misused by non-Natives. A mounted and framed dreamcatcher is being used as a shared symbol of hope and healing by the Little Thunderbirds Drum and Dance Troupe from the

Red Lake Indian Reservation The Red Lake Indian Reservation () covers in parts of nine counties in Minnesota, United States. It is made up of numerous holdings but the largest section is an area around Red Lake, in north-central Minnesota, the largest lake i ...

in Minnesota. In recognition of the shared trauma and loss experienced, both at their school during the

Red Lake shootings The Red Lake shootings was a spree killing that occurred on March 21, 2005, at two locations on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Red Lake, Minnesota, United States. That afternoon at 2:00 p.m., 16-year-old Jeff Weise killed his grandfather ...

, and by other students who have survived similar

school shooting A school shooting is an Gun violence, armed attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of a firearm. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shooti ...

s, they have traveled to other schools to meet with students, share songs and stories, and gift them with the dreamcatcher. The dreamcatcher has been passed from Red Lake to students in several other towns where school shootings have occurred.Marysville School District receives dreamcatcher given to Columbine survivors
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News. Posted on November 7, 2014Dreamcatcher for school shooting survivors
(paywall)

References

External links

The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990
{{Authority control Anishinaabe mythology Dreams in religion Amulets Great Lakes tribal culture Native American sculpture Native American relics First Nations culture in Canada Objects believed to protect from evil Talismans Anishinaabe culture Native American culture

Ojibwe origin

Modern uses

See also

References

External links