One word: Nooooooooooooo!!

nope- not unless you are native american, and live in a teepee or hogan.... or if you live in an american history museum gift shop, then I guess it's ok.

not seeing it.

I think anything made by hand with natural or recycled materials can be appreciated in the right setting. I guess I'm still new to design rules because I didn't realize there was a debate. As with everything some people like it, some don't.

Funny, i recently received one of these by mail sent from some kind of native american charity organization.
I thought it looked kinda funky so i hung it in my kitchen door knob. i like the sound it makes.

Unless it's part of your heritage, or your religion/philosophy, no.

Cue the slew of cultural appropriation commentary.

A friend of mine recently brought me back one from a trip to Arizona. Hippie shit connotations aside, I hung it above my bed and in addition to having really intense, vivid dreams it kind of looks rad in a slightly mid-century minimalist setting.

I use to love them as a kid and even now my child likes them but I have to admit..I never knew there was a "debate" about them. I probably wouldn't use them as a accent in my room but I still think they are fun and neat.

I have three hanging in my bedroom. One a family member made for me when I left for college, one that I made at summer camp during my teen years and a small one that my mother gave me. I think grouped together they look great (they are each a different size but have similar colors) and are appropriate for my bedroom.

They're not for everyone or everyone's home, but I like them in mine.

Good Grief...

It prompts just one question: Do you freely tack up bits and pieces of other cultures and religions in your house as art? If you are hanging it over your Buddha or next to your interchanging Kwan Yin/Virgin Mary collection, go for it. Otherwise, you're looking like a member of the Wannebe nation.

Glad to see some positive comments on this, people can be so close minded. I don't have one but have seen them look beautiful in a relaxed 70's hippie boho way. I am sure they can look great in a very modern room as well. As for these strange comments on having pieces from other cultures outside your own... I think it is great to honor OUR countries history.

I just threw up a little in my mouth.

As a person of Native decent, this article is offensive and disgusting. This debate is over the “awesomeness” of dream catchers as décor instead of the exploitation of American Indian imagery in modern design?! Unbelievable.

Yes, you can appreciate American Indian art-- you can even own American Indian art-- but please ask where this art is coming from and who made it. Is the artist of native decent? What is the meaning behind this work? Is the piece used in ceremonial traditions?

Apartment Therapy, you have lost a reader.

seriously? I made one back in high school and hung it in front of my bedroom window. I'm pretty sure it's still there (I'm 33 now, I'll check with my dad).
To answer Alyse's question - yes I do. As an African American would you limit me to decorating with only other African American artists? Should I give away the Diego Rivera print I bought while I was studying in Mexico since I'm not Mexican?
That is just silly.

@ ihavetoregistertocomplain

THANK YOU. You summed up exactly what I was going to say. Folks, cultural appropriation is NOT simply borrowing design elements from other cultures. It's taking sacred, religious, or otherwise important symbols and/or ideas from another culture out of their original context and resuiting them for your own purposes. It is especially problematic when there is a power imbalance between the cultures involved - i.e. a dominant mainstream culture and a minority group it has historically oppressed.

Read this. And this.

i have a close family friend who makes dreamcatchers. he is not of native decent, in any way, but they are beautiful and he enjoys making them and is interested in the culture behind them.

i have one hanging in my bedroom- i love it. i get compliments on it everytime i have guests over.

... apparently apartment therapy readers would be disgusted though.

if you register to complain
hahaha
your just taking this decor thing waaaay to seriously
it's childish

I love them, their very pretty and chilled

Cause it's soooooo hard to offend Apartment Therapy readers. ;-)

if you hang a dream catcher from your car's rearview mirror, does it make you fall asleep behind the wheel or lead to better daydreams while stuck in traffic?

Never in my house!

Huh? What exploitation of Native American imagery? I don't particularly like dream catchers, but this cultural appropriation stuff is nonsense. If you haven't noticed, you can buy Buddhas at West Elm, and menorahs at DWR. People see beauty in fragments and artifacts from other cultures, and use them to make their world more interesting and enriching. I don't see anything wrong with that.

ps Tess: I was never a fan but then i visited Noa and Stuart's Boho-Chic Bungalow and FELL IN LOVE with all their beautiful dreamcatchers. Some were bigger than me! If people can put Buddha in their gardens and Holy Mary candles in their houses, why not dreamcatchers over their beds?

Dream catchers can be intensely associated with religion and/or culture. They can also be strung up in a dorm room because they’re pretty.

It’s the same with the Christian cross, the Buddha statue, etc. I’d even venture to say flags get involved in this debate of taking-its-meaning-seriously vs. I-just-like-the-way-it-looks. Going outside the decor world, even yoga falls into the trivialized-by-the-masses category.

Said masses are just showing appreciation and approval of something that is outside what they know. (And because it is outside what they know, they can't distinguish between everyday objects and sacred ones.) I don’t see that as offensive. But to each their own.

That said, dream catchers as decor = yuck.

Those Land Rich dreamcatchers are $90!!! Why??

My own preference on native American things (objects, jewelry, etc) is that I just buy them from the source. That way I know they're authentic, and they are the ones to benefit, not some person making 20 cents an hour in China. Or in this case, some hippie in Brooklyn.

@ matt in kc

A comment from an older AT post about design pet peeves:

Being a Thai Buddhist born and raised, [my pet peeve is] the use of Buddhas in inappropriate places. Art is possible, but you wouldn't use a crucifix as a spoonrest, would you?

I was invited to Someone-I-Thought-Would-Be-Cool's for dinner and was greeted by a broken Buddha's head used as a doorstop, several other idols on the low shelves and another in the bathroom. I was mortified. The host, learning more about me, cheerfully pointed out where she bought what, and they were all mass produced for retail.

I love it how AT readers pride themselves in being open-minded ("'Fuck It' on the wall? THAT'S AWESOME") but bring up issues of privilege and social justice, and suddenly the minds slam shut and the status quo is vigorously defended.

I think some people are right to find dreamcatchers offensive. However, I don't find dreamcatchers offensive. I just don't care for or own dreamcatchers.

Also, like skatz12 said, if you want to buy something from another culture, buy it from the people themselves. Fair Trade is a great example. Those items are made especially for foreign consumption. Plus, you'll economically benefitting a Majority World artisan.

Dreamcatchers are so pretty! Don't over think it! And life doesn't have to be so serious all the time. If you used dreamcatchers as toilet paper, that would be pretty bad. If you put them up in your house because you think they're lovely and have no intention of dishonoring a tradition, where's the harm? I have framed pictures of Krishna, Buddha statues, Native American art, crosses, and a painting of Jesus because I love it all. What's so wrong with that? People have been exchanging cultural symbols and ideals since the beginning of humankind.

www.nativeappropriations.blogspot.com

whoooooops.

I'm totally with Pleiovn here---don't overthink it! My mom made some really awesome giant-sized dreamcatchers in the '70s and they are quite beautiful.

I used to have some dreamcatchers in my room as a kid because our Girl Scout camp always had that as a project at camp. However, I always felt sort of wrong because our child-made versions (with no appreciation of what they were from most of the girls) just felt wrong.

I had actually thought of making one a few years back when I got married and hanging it over our bed, but my husband (who is part Native American) didn't like the idea because it was using part of a culture that was different from his heritage (southwest tribes as opposed to Great Lakes) and since he was not raised with any Native American traditions (except fry bread and the occasional pow-wow). I found it interesting that I took no offense because I planned to use it in a respectful manner, but he saw it as an appropriation. It changed my views a bit on things like that.

Why is it if you don't like someone's opinion about learning something about the item you use to decorate your home, they are being childish? However totally adult to say NOOOOO or I threw up in my mouth.

I am Native, I have made several of these and have a colorful collection of many sizes over my bed. I think it is fine for anyone to use them as long as you have a respect for it. People decorate with crosses right?

I'm native American. Alaska native to be exact. My people sell plastic totem poles made in China out of their gift shops in the native villages. Right after they stage a phony welcoming potlatch for the bus load of Japanese and american tourists straight from the cruise ship. The plastic totem poles aren't even an accurate depiction of the traditional native imagery. So how's that for cultural appropriation.

To each's own...

I have tacked onto the wall one over my bed that I got while traveling out west. It has personal and spiritual meaning for me.

I just recently bought a small one (2" diameter) when I was at the Grand Canyon. It's hanging by my bed, but it blends in with my wall since it's almost the same color

If you think this is offensive, what about the "amerindian" cardboard cat tepee? Ewww. On so many levels, ew.

I enjoy the spirited comments here much more than the dream catchers.

I make these on occasion... like, rare occasion. But I make them with beads. Lots and lots of seed beads.

I particularly like making them with peacock feathers, although if you have them for spiritual reasons, that obviously wouldn't be an acceptable practice.

Hi, everyone! There have been some really insightful comments on all sides- thank you for that! Here are a few things I'd like to add..
-I discussed dreamcatchers in a purely aesthetic, how-can-this-work-in-the-modern-home context (which is most feasible within the scope of AT), but I hope that did not imply a lack of respect for the cultures and traditions behind them. I apologize if I came across as flippant or disrespectful. On the contrary, I think that if you love dreamcatchers, for whatever personal reason, they are beautiful objects that deserve (and will look good in) an honored spot in the modern home. I don't know if you can ever disrespect something by loving it...but there's a good chance I'm obnoxiously naive.
-I felt dreamcatchers deserved some design-world respect (not that it matters to the dreamcatchers). I'd been thinking about how fascinating I'd always found them, and searched for them on a few design sites. All I could seem to find was mocking, disgust, and disrespect, and I felt they deserved a fresh look.
-I think you can't help but love certain objects, and feel a connection- even a sacred connection- to them. Yesterday I shared a painting, "The Mary Magdelene Reading", that I've loved for years. I have no Christian affiliations, but the painting resonates with me. There she is, in the midst of her complicated life, doing exactly what I do when things get complicated, centuries later: sitting on the floor, reading a book. The truth, and beauty, and peace in that image, for me, transcends official associations, and I would display it proudly on my wall someday, along with all the other motley little things that I cherish. None of us can every really know what something means to someone else, but it can be so fun to find out.
-I really like what kuumba had to say. Through travel, friends, study, and this messy life, we absorb so much of the world, and it all becomes a part of us, and of our homes. And that makes wonderful homes.

Okay, thanks everyone!
Tess

P.S.- ngnerd: I know, right?!

I'm Native Canadian, and I don't really find this offensive at all. In my home, we each have a dreamcatcher hanging in our bedrooms, my kids and I. I think they are gorgeous. However, I'm not going to get all pissy because "I'm Native and to downplay the importance of a cultural token is insulting!!"... Ridiculous. Who CARES if someone has it up because it's "awesome" and pretty? Why is it such a big deal? My neighbors have an African American lampboy garden gnome thing that our other "black" neighbors find hilarious. I have a good friend who is Buddhist who doesn't spaz about the fact I have a Buddha mural on my wall. Stop people wearing cross necklaces and ask them the last time they prayed, went to church, tithed. Don't get too wrapped up in the "cultural disrespect" aspect- it's not like people who like dreamcatchers for aesthetics are burning them out on your front lawn. RELAX people.

Hum...
I don't usually comment on blogs, because I don't see the use of arguing about very individual taste matters with strangers. But I can't help it, because I'm an anthropology master student (specializing in archeaology of native-european contact in north america...).
If you think this is outrageous appropriation of a cultural symbol, think of other things such as: smoking tobacco, snowshoes, beaded gard, maple syrup, canoeing... All of these things were borrowed from the native cultures by the first european colonists, and we don't usually make a big case out of usijng them. Why are some native symbols so loaded with racial meaning and some not?
Our culture has become so entangled over the centuries, it becomes hard to draw the line as to what is who's. I think the key word here is "Awareness". If you are putting up something in your house, be aware of what it means to you and to others. But then you should do the same thing every time you smoke a cigarette or go out canoeing in the summer...
I think these things work as cultural bridges and help mend hurts that are very old and very deep.

Good point, I'd have little left if I let go of everything that's not of my immediate direct ancestors' cultures. I know very little even about their cultures! I may be ignorant of my home furnishings' cultural origins, but would hope my respect for and appreciation of their beauty cancels that out in part. It would be sad to miss out on the many interesting aspects of living in the current global village.

I semi-regularly pop up here about people's appropriation of religious symbols - I dont think you should decorate with buddahs or crosses or dream catchers (would like to know the significance of these, though) - but I think bc christianity in the US is a dominant religion, it is a bit tougher - & used to it. And western christian art is more representative - perhaps the comparison should be an icon for the orthodox rather than a religious-subject-but-not-existance painting . All religions should be prepared for philosophical challenge, but to be "just" decor? There was a picture of Abraham Lincoln as a whore a while ago - quite a few people found it inappropriate...

@mellissacj Your neighbors have a stereotypical Black lawn jockey and your other neighbors think its funny. Wow.

First off, AT readers seriously need to recognize their privilege, even the Black readers (and I am Black and Native American in case any one is wondering) especially when it comes to indigenous people in this country. Start with Derailing For Dummies http://www.derailingfordummies.com/

You can oals start out by leaving out the word "honoring". If people truly wanted to honor Native Americans they would go to Congress and ask them to recognize the treaties that were made with sovereign Native American nations. They would ask why a coal company has rights to Navajo Nation water. They would ask why do Native Americans receive sub-standard health care on the reservations? Buying a neon green Made In China dreamcatcher is not honoring anything but your wallet. I have no clue why the word "honoring" always seems to come up specifically when talking about cultural appropriation of Native American items.

My own personal opinion is that dreamcatchers are fine to own but they are more than just "awesome". Put forth the effort to learn about the people and the culture it belongs too. (Ojibwe in this case. Navajo's do not have dreamcatchers). I have many cultural items from my many travels. Each of them has a story, and every one of them has been bought from people who belonged to the culture.

Ultimately what underpins this entire conversation is that education about Native American people in the mainstream is inadequate. In fact much of it is downright wrong (Thanksgiving anyone?) Secondly the history of racism in America makes it hard for the dominant culture to recognize when they are disrespectful, and they find it far easier to blame the less privileged.

I don't see anything wrong with appreciating the beauty in what other cultures create. Of course, it's insensitive to ignore, or worse deny, the religious or other cultural connotations that these objects represent, but I don't think that's what people are doing (for the most part) when they choose objects such as these to adorn their homes. Of course, it is always better to buy "authentic" items, both in terms of cultural symbols and in terms of ethically-made clothing, housewares, food, etc. It's tough to avoid the cheap stuff in today's world, but that's no reason to ignore beauty in every form.

To everyone who thinks it's completely ignorant to acknowledge other cultures in our homes: get over it. Go fight with strangers about something that matters.

Brittany: You think someone seeing their culture disrespected doesn't matter? Your privilege is showing.

I personally prefer to decorate with upside down crosses. They're so pretty!

When things are done out with ignorance and superficiality it is always offensive. when things are done with sensitivity, caring and genuine interest and understanding then they enrichen our lives and honor the diversity in the world.
Final word: don't be an ignorant a$$ and choose "decoration" items with care and conscientiousness.
Also... buy from people not corporations.
Conflict solved! You're welcome.

@ Brittany and others who think like her, head to this link
http://www.derailingfordummies.com/#moreimportantly

Read the rest of the Derailing for Dummies site as well.

I don't think the offended people are wrong, but I would have to say that I am not offended by something like this.

I am very confused and undecided on where I stand on the theory of cultural appropriation. So many design decisions are rooted in culture and/or tradition, you really have to take things on a case by case basis.

It is important that if someone decorates with something, such as a dreamcatcher, that they know where it came from and what it means. I think that if someone displays and appreciates an artifact with the understanding of what it means, it's ok. But hey, that's just one opinion.

I would just like the say I am of Native American decent, but I still do not believe that has anything to do with the fact that I like dreamcatchers. My mother bought me one for my eighteenth birthday at a pow wow she had attended. I don't see my dreamcatcher as "decor" it hangs over my bed and whether spiritual or psychological, it helps me sleep a little better each night even after having it for almost 10 years. I can't believe people cannot even respect others choice and what they want to hang over their beds....childish.