Adding beads and feathers with symbolic value became popular, and different tribes added different meanings to the original charm’s design and purpose. Many other Native tribes began making these charms. In the 1960s, the Pan-Indian Movement adopted the Ojibwe spider web charms as a symbol of Indigenous Peoples in the Americas solidarity, identity, and unity. The spider web charms are intended to ward off evil, and are not explicitly connected to dreams So she taught the mothers and grandmothers how to make the charms to help her protect the children of the Ojibwe Nation. As the Ojibwe Nation spread out and grew though, it was too much for Asibikaashi to weave her protective charms for every baby. She explained the purpose of these charms.Īsibikaashi’s job was to weave the charms herself and hand them above a baby’s cradle board while they were sleeping. Bev Longboat worked as the executive director at the Niwasa Head Start Program at Six Nations Reserve in Ontario. They are based on Asibikaashi, a Spider Woman who helps and protects the Ojibwe people. Traditionally these charms were 3.5-5 inches in diameter, made of wood and red yarn or nettle fibre. Their spider web charms are the original “dreamcatchers.” They are the second largest Native population of Canada, after the Cree people. The Ojibwe peoples live in the Northern Midwest of the USA and Southern Ontario and Quebec. The Ojibwe Nation is an indigenous culture of North America. We always try to provide as much context and education as possible alongside our projects, so this is a brief overview of the history of dreamcatchers.

One of our projects involves making dreamcatchers out of paper plates and string (lesson plan here).

Where do dream catchers originate from