The ojibwa (chippewa) believed that night is full of both good & bad dreams.
when a dreamcatcher is placed by your bed-side, it moves freely in the night air & catches dreams as they drift by.
there are many variants to the dreamcatcher legend, some of which say that good dreams slide down the feather to those sleeping below.
although the ojibwa are credited as the first people to use dreamcatchers, many other tribes & native peoples have adopted dreamcatchers into their cultures.
although the designs & legends of dreamcatchers differ slightly, the underlying meaning & symbolism is universal & is carried across many culture & language barriers.