About Dream Catchers

Long ago, when the world was young, a Native elder and spiritual leader, high up on a mountain top, had a vision. In his vision, Iktomi - the great trickster and teacher of wisdom appeared in the form of a spider.
She spoke to him in a sacred language, only known by spiritual leaders. As Iktomi spoke, she took the elder's willow hoop - with feathers, horse hair, beads and other offerings and attached to it - and began to spin a web.
She spoke to the elder about the cycles of life and how we begin as infants. We then move on to childhood and then, into adulthood. Finally, we go on to old age where we must be taken care of as infants, thus completing the cycle.
'But,' Iktomi said as she continued to spin her web, 'in each time of life, there are many forces - some good and some bad. If you follow the good forces, they will steer you in the right direction. But, if you listen to the bad forces, they will hurt you and steer you in the wrong direction.' She continued, "There are many forces and different directions than can help or interfere with the harmony of nature and also with the Great Spirit and all her wonderful teachings.'
All while the spider spoke, she continued to weave her web, starting from the outside and working toward the center. When Iktomi finished speaking, she gave the elder the web and said, 'See, the web is an imperfect circle, with a hole in the center. Use the web to help yourself and your people - to reach your goals and make use of your people's ideas, dreams and visions. The web will allow your positive thoughts to flow through to you, and the negative ones will be caught, unable to reach you.'
The elder passed his vision on to his people. Now, the Lakota Sioux use dream catchers as the web of their lives. Traditionally, they are hug away from the wall to allow flow through, above our beds or in our homes, to sift dreams and visions.
Each dream catcher incorporates a shell, a feather and horse hair or bone, uniting the sea, the sky and the land.
We believe dream catchers hold the destiny of our future. Care for your dream catcher by lightly dusting with a gentle cloth when needed.