While dream catchers
continue to be used in a traditional manner in their
communities and cultures of origin, derivative forms of
dream catchers were adopted into the Pan-Indian
movement of the 1960s and 1970s as a symbol of unity
among the various Native American cultures, or as a
general symbol of identification with Native American
or First Nations cultures.
The name "dream catcher" was published in mainstream,
non-Native media in the 1970s and became widely known as
a Native crafts item by the 1980s. By the early 1990s,
it was "one of the most popular and marketable" ones.
In the course of becoming popular outside the Ojibwe
Nation, and then outside the pan-Indian communities,
various types of "dream catchers", many of which bear
little resemblance to traditional styles, and that
incorporate materials that would not be traditionally
used, are now made, exhibited, and sold by New
Age groups and individuals.
A mounted and framed dream catcher is being used as a
shared symbol of hope and healing by the Little
Thunderbirds Drum and Dance Troupe from the Red Lake
Indian Reservation in Minnesota. In recognition of the
shared trauma and loss experienced, both at their school
during the Red Lake shootings, and by other students who
have survived similar school shootings, they have
traveled to other schools to meet with students, share
songs and stories, and gift them with the dream catcher.
The dream catcher has been passed from Red Lake to
students in several other towns where school shootings
have occurred.