Dream Catchers and Mentors

Submitted by Connie Gerow & Pat Banker

In keeping with the 4-H Living History and the introduction of various cultures in society, the 4H After School program held at Petrova Elementary School in Saranac Lake was visited from a few members of the Salmon River 4-H Mighty Shamrocks - Tribal Mentoring program and their site coordinator, Connie Gerow. The Salmon River Central High School students and St. Regis Mohawk teen mentors, Katsitsiahawi Tawistawis (Ariel) Lazore, Tsionkie (Jayson) Cook, and John Bonaparte traveled from Akwesasne to teach and assist the 4H’ers at Petrova how to recreate a traditional dream catcher.

True to their Native American roots, the Mohawk Mentors shared the legend of the iconic dream catcher. The traditional dream catcher was intended to protect the sleeping individual from negative dreams while letting the positive dreams through. It is said that the hoop was a symbol of strength and unity and the webbing that is weaved about the hoop allows only good dreams to be filtered through the webbing and slide down the feathers into the sleeper below. The dream catcher was hung over sleeping children, dangling freely. Bad dreams would stay in the web, disappearing with the light of day.

Originally constructed from a pencil size branch of a willow tree, sinew – shredded fiber of animal tendon (a symbol of strength), feathers, arrow heads, beads or other sacred items, the dream catcher is symbolic across many tribes and cultures. It was believed that the willow and sinew were meant to age and disappear as the child grew to signify the temporary time of childhood.

In the traditional, “Learning by Doing” 4-H Motto and Method, the Petrova 4H members utilized a combination of grapevine, sinew or colored thread, and beads to construct and design their own dream catcher. Unique as each individual 4H member, the grapevine was bent in the shape of hoops or tear drops then weaved with either colored string or sinew. Patterns of the webbing were made in shapes of stars, webs and “free form.” Colorful beads or beads in the shape of bears were added to the center. Some 4H’ers chose to add leather fringes with beads making each dream catcher a unique creation.

The Akwesasne teen mentor Ariel Lazore brought with her several dream catchers that she had constructed to share with the Petrova 4H members. A recently completed dream catcher that took her nearly a year to finish was constructed around a 3 inch hoop that utilized sinew threaded with thousands of tiny azure/aqua blue seed beads. A process that would require much patience and perseverance, the handcrafted dream catcher was much admired by the children.

To learn more about 4H After School Programs or 4H Club Programs, contact the Cornell Cooperative Extension Franklin County 4H Office, 518-483-7403.