"Long ago when the word was young, an old Lakota spiritual leader was on a high mountain and had a vision. In his vision, Iktomi, the great trickster and teacher of wisdom, appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi spoke to him in a sacred language. As he spoke, Iktomi the spider picked up the elder's willow hoop which had feathers, horsehair, beads and other offerings on it, and began to spin a web.
"He spoke to the elder about the cycles of life: how we begin our lives as infants, move on through childhood and then on to adulthood. Finally we go to old age where we must be taken care of as if we were infants, completing the cycle. But, Iktomi said as he continued to spin his web, in each cycle of life there are many forces: some good and some bad. If you listen to the good forces, they will steer you in the right direction. But, if you listen to the bad forces, they will steer you in the wrong direction and may hurt you. So these forces can help, or can interfere with the harmony of Nature. While the spider spoke, he continued to weave his web.
"When Iktomi finished speaking, he gave the elder the web and said, The web is a perfect circle with a hole in the center. Use the web to help your people reach their goals, making good use of their ideas, dreams and visions. If you believe in the great spirit, the web will catch your good ideas and the bad ones will go through the hole. The elder passed on his vision to the people and now many Indian people hang a dream catcher above their bed to sift their dreams and visions. The good is captured in the web of life and carried with the people, but the evil in their dreams drops through the hole in the center of the web and are no longer a part of their lives. It is said that the dream catcher holds the destiny of the future."
But the Lakota legend is not the only dreamcatcher legend that is told by Native American Indians, the Ojibwe tribe has it's own version of the legend.
"Long ago in the anciet world of the Ojibwe Nation, the Clans were all located in one general area of that place known as Turtle Island. This is the way that the old Ojibwe storytellers say how Asibikaashi (Spider Woman) helped Wanabozhoo bring giizis (sun) back to the people. To this day, Asibikaashi will build her special lodge before dawn. If you are awake at dawn, as you should be, look for her lodge and you will see this miracle of how she captured the sunrise as the light sparkles on the dew which is gathered there.
Asibikaashi took care of her children, the people of the land, and she continues to do so to this day. When the Ojibwe Nation dispersed to the four corners of North America, to fill a prophecy, Asibikaashi had a difficult time making her journey to all those cradle boards, so the mothers, sisters, and Nokomis (grandmothers) took up the practice of weaving the magical webs for the new babies using willow hoops and sinew or cordage made from plants. It is in shape of a circle to represent how giizis travels each day across the sky. The dreamcatcher will filter out all the bad bawedjigewin (dreams) and allow only good thoughts to enter into our minds when we are just abinooji. You will see a small hole in the center of each dream catchers where those good bawadjige may come through. With the first rays of sunlight,the bad dreams would perish. When we see little asibikaashi, we should not fear her but instead respect and protect her. In honor of there origin, the number of points where the web connected to the hoop numbered 8 for Spider Woman's eight legs or 7 for the Seven Prophecies."
The stories of the Dreamcatcher are wonderful and the Dreamcatchers themselves are beautiful and easy to make:
Tacky glue
6" Metal ring
Assorted pony beads
8 yd Beige suede lacing
Natural cotton twist cord
Scissors
Ruler
2 Clothespins
Wrapping the ring:
Spread glue on the first inch of the lacing. Place on the ring and hold in place with a clothespin. Wrap lacing around the ring being sure not to twist lacing. Glue the end of the lacing where it meets and hold in place with clothespin until dry.
Tie the webbing:
Knot one end of the cotton cord losely around metal ring and seal knot with glue. Loop cotton cord loosely around ring approximately every three inches. Then loop cotton cord onto the middle of the cord you've already looped. Continue until you have 3 more circles. Double knot cord in center and seal knot with glue. Cut off any excess cord.
Adding the Hanger:
Cut three 10" lengths and three 12" lengths of suede lacing. Knot ends of one 10" length together and loop through top of metal ring. Draw knot through loop and pull tight.
Adding Dangles:
Knot one end of each of the remaining laces. Thread an even number of beads onto the laces and knot the other end. Fold lacing in half and attach in the same manner as the hanger.
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