Dream Catcher History |
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The history of dream catchers has nearly been lost in the turmoil of cultural mixing and
destruction that followed on the heels of the European invasion. Dream catcher history is known
with some credibility due to the dedicated field work of Frances Densmore at the beginning of the last century. She
traveled from her home in Red Wing, Minnesota to Detroit Lakes, Minnesota just south of the White
Earth Indian Reservation where she set up a recording studio in the back of a music shop. For five
years she recorded the music of the Ojibwe for the Smithsonian Institute Bureau of American
Ethnology. Her careful and extensive study of many Native American cultures including that of the
Ojibwe (also known as Chippewa) In Bulletin 86, plate 24 from the Smithsonian Institute Bureau of American Ethology is a photograph of an early, authentic Ojibwe dream catcher and on pages 51, 53, and 113 she described articles looking like spider webs that were usually hung from the hoop of a child's cradle board. She said that 'they catch and hold everything evil as a spider's web catches and holds everything that comes into contact with it'.
The spider web
dream catcher shown below right is very similar to the original dream catcher that has
been a tradition for a very long time. It is about 3 ½ inches across, made of red
willow gathered in early spring when it is the brightest color. Feathers were often added so that
the parents could see the good dreams slipping down the softness of the feathers. We use 8 turns
around the spiral to represent the number of legs of the spider, and a single stone in the center
represents Asibikaashi, the spider. The seven points or rays
Imagine cooking without tomatoes or peppers, a picnic without potato salad, a world without canoes or hammocks, or representative government or the equality of women. These are the some of the many contributions of Native American cultures that flourished long before Columbus got lost on his voyage to the Orient. Perhaps you can get along without corn, beans, squash, or wild rice. Some families cannot imagine a night without dream catchers. For thousands of years Native Americans have woven dream catchers to provide dreams of goodness and beauty for their children. Yet the dream catcher is not for children alone. Many people have told us how much their dream catchers have changed their life, especially their capacity to dream and to dream beautiful dreams. We would like to hear your stories, too. With your permission we will post them on our web site. Before use, the dream catcher is often cleansed in a ceremony of purification by passing them through the smoke of smoldering sage--the sage ceremony. Sometimes, if the dream catcher is not in a well-lit room, it becomes overloaded with energies that need to be cleared. For us, each breath is a prayer and so each dream catcher is woven with the energies of love and blessing.
This is a crazy world. What can be done? Amazingly, we have been mislead. We have been taught that we can control government by voting. The founder of the Rothschild dynasty, Mayer Amschel Bauer, told the secret of controlling the government of a nation over 200 years ago. He said, "Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation and I care not who makes its laws." Get the picture? Your freedom hinges first on the nation's banks and money system. Freedom is connected with Debt Elimination for each individual. Not only does this end personal debt, it places the people first in line as creditors to the National Debt ahead of the banks. They don't wish for you to know this. It has to do with recognizing WHO you really are in A New Beginning: A Practical Course in Miracles, an informational study. Disclaimer - The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted material or parts therein. I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. (attributed to Voltaire), but certainly embodies what the 1st amendment of the constitution refers to as the freedom of speech
Bill of RightsAmendment 1Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
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living in North Dakota,
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario, Canada. 
These 'dream catchers' were wooden hoops with a 3
1/2 in. diameter, woven with a web made of nettle-stalk fiber that was dyed red with the red sap of
the root of bloodroot or the inner bark of the wild plum tree. This information can be found in her
book, Chippewa Customs, published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press (St. Paul) in
1929 and reprinted in 1979. A facsimile of this traditional dream catcher can be seen at the
Queen
Victoria
