Iktomi took the elder’s willow hoop and spun a web, speaking of the circle of life.
In their story, a spiritual leader had a vision where the great Iktomi, a trickster and searcher of wisdom, appeared as a spider. The Lakota tribe has a different tale regarding the dreamcatcher. When the sun comes up, these nightmares fade away. Just as she trapped insects and bad omens in her sticky web, the dreamcatcher webs trap negative dreams and thoughts overnight. To help Asibikaashi, the women of the tribe wove magic webs to symbolize the spider woman and her protection. As the Ojibwe Nation spread, it became challenging for Asibikaashi to reach all the children. The Ojibwe have a story about the Spider Woman or Asibikaashi, who took care of the children and the people on the land. This reflects the web-like structure of the dreamcatcher, and comes from a popular Ojibwe legend.
The Ojibwe word for dreamcatcher means “spider,”. While many Native American tribes use dreamcatchers and have origin stories for them, they’re typically associated with the Ojibwe (Chippewa) people.
