As most know  I make dreamcathers like the above picture and other native crafts .I am continuosly asked what
the DreamCathers legend is .So for all who have traveled here ,this is the most told dreamcather legends

 Dreamcatcher hoops were originally made out of willow and covered with sage, the web was made from deer sinew. Modern dreamcatchers are made with wood or metal wrapped in leather strips, artificial sinew replace the now forbidden use of deer sinew. The decoration of the web along with the shape, size and colors used is left to the artisan's imagination. Feathers attached to the dreamcatcher are meant to assist the flight of good dreamsThe earliest dreamcatchers were crafted for children to protect them from nightmares. Newborns were given charms that were woven in the form of spider webs to protect their dreams so their innocence would not be harmed by the tricksters of the night. The dream catcher charm would be hung from the hoop on the cradle.The legend of the American Indian dreamcatcher varies somewhat from tribe to tribe, but the basic theme or intention was to allow good dreams to slip through the web and into the sleeper during the night while the bad dreams were caught in the web and would be perished at morning light. (Lakota Legend has the opposing belief that the web will catch your good ideas and the bad ones will go through the hole)The legend of the Dream Catchers is believed to have originated many generations ago in the great Sioux Nation. A Dreamcatcher was hung in the tepees, above someone sleeping, to guard against bad dreams. The Dream Catchers allowed good dreams to pass through and slide down the feathers onto the sleeper. But a bad dream would become entangled in the webbing of the dreamcatcher, and in the morning the sun would melt it away. To this day many people believe in the power of the Dreamcatchers. Others see them as a beautiful decoration.

 Lakota Legend

   Long ago when the world was young an old man sat on a high mountain and had a vision. In his vision, Iktomi, the great trickster and teacher of wisdom, appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi spoke to him in a sacred language that only the old man could understand.
As he spoke, Iktomi the spider took the elder's willow hoop which had feathers, horse hairs, beads and offerings on it and began to spin a web. He spoke to the elder about the cycles of life....how we begin our lives as infants and we move on to childhood, and then to adulthood. Finally, we go to old age where we must be taken care of as infants, completing the cycle.
Iktomi said, "In each time of life there are many forces and different directions that can help or interfere with the harmony of nature, and also with the Great Spirit and all of his wonderful teachings." Iktomi gave the web to the Lakota elder and said, "See, the web is a perfect circle but there is a hole in the center of the circle. If you believe in the Great Spirit, the web will catch your good dreams and ideas - - and the bad ones will go through the hole. Use the web to help yourself and your people to reach your goals and make good use of your people's ideas, dreams and visions."
The elder passed on his vision to his people and even today, many of us use the dreamcatcher as the web of our life. It is hung above our beds or in the home to sift dreams and visions. The good of our dreams are captured in the web of life and carried with them...but any bad dreams escape through the center hole."