Dreamcatcher

My Navajo friend will send me a dreamcatcher through the mail and I am really excited about it. Although there are dreamcatchers available in the mall, it is not the same as having a real American Native give one to you.

I learned about dreamcatchers from what I read about American Indians. Below is the definition of a dreamcatcher from Wikipedia:

Dreamcatchers originated from the Ojibwa Nation, during the Pan- Indian Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. They were adopted by Native Americans of a number of different Nations. They came to be seen by some as a symbol of unity among the various Indian Nations, and as a general symbol of identification with Native American or First Nations cultures.

Traditionally, the Ojibwa construct dreamcatchers by tying sinew strands in a web around a small round or tear-shaped frame of willow. The resulting "dream-catcher", hung above the bed, is then used as a charm to protect sleeping children from nightmares. Dreamcatchers made of willow and sinew are not meant to last forever but instead are intended to dry out and collapse over time as the child enters the age of adulthood.

The Ojibwa believe that a dreamcatcher changes a person's dreams. According to Terri J. Andrews in the article "Living by the Dream," about the Ojibwa nation in the magazine World & I, Nov. 1998 page 204, "Only good dreams would be allowed to filter through . . . Bad dreams would stay in the net, disappearing with the light of day."

It's recommended to hang the dream catcher above someone sleeping to guard against bad dreams. Good dreams pass through and slide down the feathers to the sleeper. Another legend "Good dreams pass through the center hole to the sleeping person. The bad dreams are trapped in the web, where they perish in the light of dawn."

I am not a superstitious person, so I wouldn't be relying on a dreamcatcher to protect me from my sleep. Bad dreams come even when you're awake. As soon as I receive the dreamcatcher from my Navajo friend, I would hang it right away. Not for decorative purposes, nor for protection. I will hang it for the remembrance of a beautiful culture that is slowly fading away. The dreamcatcher is one of the American Indian's last surviving icon that is accepted by pop culture. By having one, I am imparting awareness to people who don't know that such wonderful culture exist.