The common dream-catcher weave seen today is the traditional weave used for other articles, most commonly the hoop for the hoop and stick game of many tribes. Woven with strong rawhide with a hole in the center, a child would roll the hoop along the ground and another would try to throw a wooden spear through the hole in the center.  Stories of the dream-catcher legend that describe the dreams going through a center hole are of recent origin.  The original dream-catcher had a very tiny hole in the center and the legend describes ALL dreams being caught in the weaving. Each tribe and clan, however, has its own oral tradition and memory.  Passing along that memory by storytelling has not been easy with the traditional culture challenged, the tribal languages fallen into disuse, and poverty, drugs, and conflicting values have created a climate of fear, anger, despair, and confusion.  Now there are many legends of the dream-catcher from many different Native American cultures.  Sometimes Anishinabeg tell the story of the Lakota dreamcatcher with the "Shinob" traditional spider web, and Lakota tell the "Shinob" story with their "Lakota" dream-catcher.  Authenticity is difficult, if not impossible, given the intermarriage among many tribes, with non-Indians, and the loss of the continuity historically provided by traditional elders.  I have encountered more than a few traditional elders who wanted to learn how to weave Dream-Catchers but they could find no one in their community who would or could teach them how to weave the ancient designs of their culture.  They had come to me.  Read how in The Stories Dream Catchers Weave.

In 1996 I taught Ojibwe people at the Rediscovery Center on the White Earth Reservation how to weave their traditional dream-catcher and, with the elders, was given gifts and danced the honors dance.  These Dream-Catchers and instructions to weave them are now available here, in many stores and galleries world wide and at the Museum of Ojibwe Culture in St. Ignace, Michigan.

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.  "Ever since I made a dream catcher for my daughter she hasn't complained of bad dreams.  My son even takes his Dream Catcher with him when we go on vacation," a mother volunteered a few years ago.  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.