Dreamcatcher Traditional Cache

Welcome to the Coexist Series Power Trail. This series is for educational and historical purposes only, to teach you about various mythological Deities and symbology across the globe.

In Ojibwe (Chippewa) culture, a Dreamcatcher is a handmade object based on a willow hoop, on which is woven a loose net or web. The dreamcatcher is then decorated with personal and sacred items such as feathers and beads.

While dreamcatchers originated in the Ojibwa Nation, during the Pan-Indian Movement of the 1960s and 1970s they were adopted by Native Americans of a number of different nations. Some consider the dream catcher a symbol of unity among the various Indian Nations, and a general symbol of identification with Native American or First Nations cultures. However, other Native Americans have come to see dream catchers as over-commercialized. Non-Indians have also used the dreamcatcher for their own purposes, sometimes New Age in nature.

Traditionally, the Ojibwa construct dreamcatchers by tying sinew strands in a web around a small round or tear-shaped frame of willow (in a way roughly similar to their method for making snowshoe webbing). The resulting "dream-catcher", hung above the bed, is used as a charm to protect sleeping children from nightmares. As dreamcatchers are made of willow and sinew, they are not meant to last forever but are intended to dry out and collapse as the child enters the age of wonderment.

The Ojibwa believe that a dreamcatcher changes a person's dreams. According to Konrad J. Kaweczynski, "Only good dreams would be allowed to filter through… Bad dreams would stay in the net, disappearing with the light of day." Good dreams would pass through and slide down the feathers to the sleeper.

Disclaimer:
Do not approach this series lightly. If this were only a 500' bushwhack, I would call it hellish. The roots will trip you, the branches will shred you and poke your eyes, and the insects will consume you. But it's not 500'. It's over 12 bloody miles! I highly recommend you bring snake boots, lots of water, long pants, long sleeve shirt, lots of water, good hat, pokey stick, lots of water, spare everything, bug spray, lots of water, writing utensils, cell phone, lots of water.
Did I mention bring lots of water?

You may find a laminated clue slip in this cache. If you do, you might want to solve the riddle. This will help you locate the Gaia puzzle cache nearby. Please leave clue slips in the caches you find them in.