Are Dreamcatchers Cultural Appropriation?

From the pen of Green Planet Forest School Leader Roger Hiley.

Some of you may know that I have an interest in making sure that anything I try to do, I do with respect for any culture that isn’t my own. This week I thought at MCS [one of our contracted school partners] I would give the young people the option of creating a dream catcher. This is something that I have always felt uncomfortable about as it can be deeply disrespectful if not done correctly. I asked my friend on the web “Are Dreamcatchers Cultural Appropriation?” and I thought I would share the answer, in case anyone else out there had a similar pondering.

Dr Chris Drew (helpfulprofessor.com) suggested that we should:

• Source them ethically if we purchase one

• Educate ourselves about who used them, why they were used and how they were used

• We then should take that knowledge and choose to use them correctly ourselves

  
  

A link form his page sent me to - The Indigenous Foundation which was really helpful. Some guidance from their page on Design & Meaning was this:

They are small by design, some elements of a dreamcatcher include the hoop, the web and feathers. While beads, gemstones and arrowheads are more recent and modern additions to the design. The layering of the web leaves a small hole in the middle that allows good dreams to pass through while the web catches the bad dreams.

The Hoop - circle shaped or teardrop shaped, represents the circle of life. It would appear that this was normally made from willow.

The Web - patterned after a spider’s web, meant to catch bad dreams (or good in for Lakota)

Feathers - there are multiple interpretations, the most accepted is that the feather provides a soft ladder for the good dreams to follow to the dreamer’s mind

Beads - single bead represents the spider that wove the web, multiple beads represent the bad dreams that have been caught

Gemstones - replace the symbolism of feathers (where feathers are unobtainable due to laws and restrictions

Arrowheads - increased strength and protection. Arrows point to the four corners of the earth directed by the wind.

In the Lakota story they catch good dreams for the person with it, but in Ojibwes traditional stories they are connected to holding bad dreams/ or protection from harm.

For a deeper dive into dreamcatchers this I thought was helpful - All About the Lakota Dream Catcher this video was created by Red Feather Woman.

And what about Mandala's, Journey Sticks and other activities we may have procured from across the cultures? We'd love to hear your feedback and thoughts on this topic.

Stay muddy!