Dreamcatcher Tattoo – While many tangible aspects of Native American culture have found popularity in modern America, from moccasins to beaded bags, none seems to have resonated like the dreamcatcher of the Anishinabe. Although they have been given tribal names like Chippewa in the United States and Ojibway in Canada, the word that these people actually use for themselves is “Anishinabe” or “original people.” Straddling the border between the north-central United States and Southern Canada, these Native Americans or First Peoples have managed to continually occupy their original territories, unlike neighboring plains groups who were forcibly relocated.

Because dreamcatchers can now be found everywhere from the tribes of the northern plains to groups in the Pueblo Southwest and even Central America, the origin stories of the dreamcatcher differ. Most, however, tend to at least share a similar use which, as the name implies, involves catching bad dreams while letting the good ones pass through.