Long ago when the world 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
scared language that only spiritual leaders of the Lakota tribe could understand.
As he spoke, Iktomi took the elders willow hoop which had feathers,
horse hairs, beads and offerings on it and began to spin a web.
He spoke to the elder about the cycles of life. He spoke of how we begin our lives
as infants and we move on to childhood, and then to adulthood. Finally, we
go to old age where we must be taken care of once again as an infant, thus completing the cycle.
Iktomi said, "In each time of life there are many forces and different directions
that can help or interfere with the harmony of nature, and
with the great spirit and all of his teachings." Iktomi gave
the web to the Lakota elder and said, "See, the web is a perfect circle but
there is a hole in the center of the cirlce. If you believe in the great spirit,
the web will catch your good dreams and ideas and the bad ones
will go through the hole. Use the web to help yourself and your people to reach
your goals and make good use of your people's dreams and visions."
The Lakota elder passed on his vision to his people and now the Lakota's use
the dreamcatcher as the web of their life. It is hung above
their beds or in their home to sift their dreams and visions. The good of
their dreams is captured in the web of life and carried with them, but the evil in
their dreams escapes through the center hole, and vanishes with the morning light.
Some tribes believe the good dreams pass through the holes in the web and the evil dreams are caught
in the web to vanish with the light of day.
Dreamcatchers may be found in many places. I have often seen them at craft fairs and in gift shops.
Most are made with a circular metal ring wrapped in suede lacing.
The circle represents the willow hoop, and the webbing inside represents the spider's web.
The hoop has feathers, beads and trinkets attached.
Click "NEXT" below to go to a page with instructions for making your own Dreamcatcher.
You might want to keep it for yourself, or do as I do and make one for each new arrival into your
family. or as a gift for a friend. I hope you will enjoy this fun and easy to complete project.
I also have a page about the "Trail of Tears" which I hope you will visit.
