dreamcatcher

Dreamcatcher is a handmade object rooted in Native American traditions, traditionally hung over a sleeping space to protect against bad dreams. A typical dreamcatcher features a circular hoop—often made from wood or plant fibers—with a woven net or web at its center. Feathers and small beads may be suspended from the bottom. While strongly associated with Indigenous cultures of North America, dreamcatchers have become a widely used decorative symbol, and designs vary by region and maker.

Traditional belief holds that dreamcatchers trap bad dreams in their web, allowing only pleasant dreams to pass through the central hole and slide down the hanging feathers to the sleeper. The symbolism is sometimes linked to the web of a protective Spider Woman in Ojibwe narratives.

Origins and use vary by tribe, but many sources attribute the dreamcatcher to the Ojibwe (Chippewa) people, with later adoption by other Indigenous nations and broader audiences. Historically they were crafted as protective objects for infants and children, often hung above cradles or beds. In contemporary practice, dreamcatchers are also produced commercially and sold as crafts or decorative items, a development that has drawn discussion about cultural appropriation and respectful use.

In popular culture, the term also refers to Dreamcatcher, a South Korean girl group formed in 2017. This use is unrelated to the traditional object.