It was made in smooth hands, with care softness and love, a thoughtful gift for the generations to come after her. While your family may pass down jewelry, clothes or other meaningful objects, my family passes down an old dreamcatcher made by my great great grandmother. My family is part Native American, so the dreamcatcher Grandma Chenoa made for us is meaningful. As explained by my first grandmother Tara, “The purpose of a traditional dream catcher is to hang it near your bed so it can collect your bad dreams. The dreams get caught in the webs and burn away in the sun’s light in the morning.” While my family does use traditional dreamcatchers, the special wooden family dream catcher is used to represent my family’s legacy. Every time a new family member is added to the family, we add an eagle or hawk feather and a bead to one of the dreamcatchers attached. We also add smaller dreamcatchers and symbolic ornaments when needed. Chenoa lived in South Carolina when she made this and was part of the Cherokee tribe. Grandma Tara introduced me to this dreamcatcher when I was 8 years old. “It will get passed on to the grandchild that I decide is responsible, proud and worthy of holding our family’s gift.” The family dreamcatcher is important to my family because not only does it remind our family of past generations, but it also holds in family negativity that gets burned away every day.

– CC

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more