I wouldn't be offended if someone dressed up as a stereotypical native american even though my great grandma was half blackfoot native american. Funny how it's only creatures from certain culture's folklore people get pissy over and not others. The Indians then killed him and cut him to pieces. Historically, deciding exactly what culture is hasn't been easy. [29], Another well-known case involving Wendigo psychosis was that of Jack Fiddler, an Oji-Cree chief and medicine man known for his powers at defeating wendigos. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(443401, 'c61f3219-a9f3-4b0c-95ea-f614a80c184b', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Pictured above: A portion of the poster for the film Antlers (Fox Searchlight, 2021). Lurking in the deep woods of the Northern United States and Southern Canada lies a mysterious and fearsome Native American monster, the Wendigo. [20], Among the Assiniboine, the Cree, and the Ojibwe, a satirical ceremonial dance is sometimes performed during times of famine to reinforce the seriousness of the wendigo taboo. His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 It was already here. In addition, for many Indigenous peoples and local communities, making traditional clothes is a source of income; as such, cultural appropriation can . The boy told the Indians that the Windigo was near them, and showed them his hand where the Windigo cut him to see if he was fat enough to eat. Ces pauures gens furent saisis, ce qu'on nous a dit, d'vn mal qui nous est inconnu, mais qui n'est pas bien extraordinaire parmy les peuples que nous cherchons: ils ne sont ny lunatiques, ny hypocondriaques, ny phrenetiques; mais ils ont vn mlange de toutes ces sortes de maladies, qui, leur blessant l'imagination, leur cause vne faim plus que canine, et les rend si affamez de chair humaine, qu'ils se iettent sur les femmes, sur les enfans, mesme sur les hommes, comme de vrais loups-garous, et les deuorent belles dents, sans se pouuoir rassasier ny saouler, cherchans tousiours nouuelle proye, et plus auidement que plus ils en ont mang. I can't even think about bank without getting mad, why did she need to make them like that..EVERY name is filled with stereotypes , well every name from minority .I don't even want to talk about Fantastic Beasts problems. Indigenous, They travelled too much. Cultural appropriation definition, the adoption, usually without acknowledgment, of cultural identity markers from subcultures or minority communities into mainstream culture by people with a relatively privileged status. People can appreciate and draw as many wendigo and other scary monsters as they like, it's all entirely fictional and doesn't hurt anyone. One time long ago a big Windigo stole an Indian boy, but the boy was too thin, so the Windigo didn't eat him up right away, but he travelled with the Indian boy waiting for him till he'd get fat. "This isn't going to be the last time a story like this emerges about cultural appropriation, and what it emphasises is how much we need more diversity, in all components of the fashion industry," says Lewis. I hate that I am defending JKR but I think a lot of people don't really think about how the internet was in in the late 90s and what kind of content was on the internet. The Wendigo is a mythical creature that has been reported in many different forms. The latest addition to this lineup of wendigo tales is Scott Cooper and Guillermo del Toros horror film Antlers (2021) in which a Native American character provides some brief exposition before the story centered around a white community contending with the monster begins in earnest. [16] Whenever a wendigo ate another person, it would grow in proportion to the meal it had just eaten, so it could never be full. It can serve as a metaphor explaining any pattern of domination by which groups subjugate and dominate or violently destroy and displace. It was forbidden to resort to this practice, even out of desperation. Cultural appropriation, defined Culture refers to the traditions, customs, beliefs, and practices of any given ethnic, racial, or religious group. [49][50] In the 2021 film The Inhuman (L'Inhumain) the arrival of a wendigo symbolizes inner turmoil after a character turns his back on his Indigenous heritage in the pursuit of material success. Most sensible thing said ever. In addition to characterizing individual people who exhibit destructive tendencies, the wendigo can also describe movements and events with similarly negative effects. [11], This was the end of the wendigo is part of the traditional belief system of a number of Algonquin-speaking peoples, including the Ojibwe, the Saulteaux, the Cree, the Naskapi, and the Innu. If I can draw my own version of a Chinese dragon, or my own version of angel or demon, I can draw a wendigo. Ill admit, my initial reaction was very dismissive. The book's cul-tural importance granted it not one, but two movie adaptations, the first in 1989 and the second in 2019. If I don't, I'll never know what it is I'm so angry about! It turned its hunger on the Americas, a wendigo so hungry that it consumes its own lips if there is nothing else for it to eat. Don't miss a beat. That's just pulling a potential explanation out of my ass, though, I have no idea if its accurate or not. Indigenous peoples have seen culturally . They are afflicted with neither lunacy, hypochondria, nor frenzy; but have a combination of all these species of disease, which affects their imaginations and causes them a more than canine hunger. What is cultural appropriation vs. cultural appreciation? The question of how to challenge the wtiko psychosis as described by Forbes and Wendigo Economics as described by LaDuke is a difficult one, but the mythic force of the concept of the wendigo helps to underscore the urgency of these questions. Far from just being a monster in an escapist horror flick, Forbes and LaDuke demonstrate that the wendigo can help us grasp the horrors of our real world so we can be here now and, ultimately, work toward solutions. These bonnets are symbols of warrior achievements and are the equivalent of military medals. Archived post. Wendigos specifically represent the very real threat of starvation and what moral depths a person will sink to to avoid starving to death in the hard, cold de Continue Reading More answers below KEY OOY The heroes of books I read, movies I watched, and games I played almost exclusively looked like me when I was growing up, people I could easily identify with. The legend of the wendigo has long been associated with real-life problems like insatiable greed, selfishness, and violence. Here's some links:Website - https://thesierramistify.wixsite.com/thesierramistifyEtsy - https://www.etsy.com/shop/thesierramistify?ref=simple-shop-header-name\u0026listing_id=736195213Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thesierramistify/Art Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thesierramistify.art/- Music used in this video -Prime Beatz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkG3r3-ODOw I am just reacting to what I read in this ridiculous PSA journal out there on Deviantart. BTW, I love rainbow farting unicorns! The Witherell House and the Cult of Weird, Movie Review: BIRDS OF PREY (And the Fantabulous Inclusion of Victor Zsasz and a Hyena). The windigo, however, continues to seek revenge for this attempted scholarly execution by periodically duping unsuspecting passers-by, like psychiatrists, into believing that windigo psychosis not only exists but that a psychiatrist could conceivably encounter a patient suffering from this disorder in his or her practice today! They went back again to see if he was dead. With teepees, Im not sure I get it. [25], One of the more famous cases of Wendigo psychosis reported involved a Plains Cree trapper from Alberta, named Swift Runner. He ultimately was granted a pardon but died three days later in jail before receiving the news of this pardon. There, he uses the cannibalistic wendigo as a metaphor for the behaviors and attitudes central to patterns of social domination visited upon his own people in the Americas and subjugated peoples everywhere. They're monsters. I believe cultural appropriation is Only when someone of another 'race' or culture creates something and passes it off as if it is authentic. "Windigo Psychosis: A Study of Relationship between Belief and Behaviour among the Indians of Northeastern Canada." In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. If Hello Kitty and the Minions from Dispicable Me being considered acceptable Halloween costumes wasn't the exact point I stopped taking Halloween seriously as a holiday, Wendigos being considered a form of disrespectful "cultural appropriation" was. And FWIW, I've read stories that disturbed me & even disgusted me but the author has the right to tell their story whether I like it or don't. However, when reading Magic in North America, it's hard not to get the sense that Rowling did not understand the thin ice she was treading on when it came to representation of Native Americans, nor did she make any effort to treat these themes with the weight they deserve. The wendigo is seen as the embodiment of gluttony, greed, and excess: never satisfied after killing and consuming one person, they are constantly searching for new victims. So for some woke culture types it's considered a form of disrespectful cultural appropriation to make your own Halloween monster or character based on a wendigo. So it seems to me like the objection might have something to do with an inappropriate mixing of religious contexts from two different belief systems. [31][32] Others have pointed to a number of credible eyewitness accounts, both by Algonquians and others, as evidence that Wendigo psychosis was a factual historical phenomenon. Let's stop dancing around this ugly truth: Right now, Katy Perry is pop culture's most prominent purveyor of racist cultural appropriation. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. It was created by Mayuki . You dont have to be French to love the Phantom of the Opera. Strictly speaking, cultural appropriation is the adoption of some element of another culture -- food, language, practices, fashion, etc. BLACKPINK. Marvel Comics pay tribute to classic Monsters. In most traditions, the wendigo is human in origin and becomes a monster through a process that results either from acts of starvation-induced cannibalism or from possession by a spirit. He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. Posted by The legend of the Wendigo stems from Native American folklore, primarily in Algonquian-speaking tribes located in south and southeastern Canada, the Great Lakes Region, and northeastern United States. Seems to me a great deal of what people write about in fantasy stories is borrowing from other cultures & nations & communities. Cultural appropriation consists of borrowing something from another culture in mockery or thoughtless misuse. Cookie Notice [21] The last known wendigo ceremony conducted in the United States was at Lake Windigo of Star Island of Cass Lake, within the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota.[when? But I do know the actual description of it. I don't don't value cultural pluralism. Mistgod Edited Oct 11, 2020 Hobbyist Traditional Artist Apparently, wendigos are sacred creatures from several indigenous cultures. That borrowing and exchanging of cultural elements is what makes America the melting pot of the world. I dont know who originally posted it, or where. Wendigo Cannibalism in Native American Folklore. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. I will draw whatever I feel like drawing. and our People were not really using Google until the 2000s and that kind of info might have not been available in the 90s. 8.1.2014. Blackwood's work has influenced many of the subsequent portrayals in mainstream horror fiction,[42][43] such as August Derleth's "The Thing that Walked on the Wind" and "Ithaqua" (1933 and 1941),[41] which in turn inspired the character in Stephen King's novel Pet Sematary,[42] where it is a personification of evil, an ugly grinning creature with yellow-grey eyes, ears replaced by ram's horns, white vapor coming from its nostrils, and a pointed, decaying yellow tongue. and our That's an easy solution and I still keep my freedom to create. I think it's okay because you're not trying to rewrite actual history or actual legend. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. For this screenshot controversy, I am actually going to go over a video game for this. In some artistic depictions, it looks similar to the pop-culture wendigo and even makes an appearance in The Witcher games but instead it's called a Leshen. Apparently, wendigos are sacred creatures from several indigenous cultures. What makes the wendigo any different from other culturally important mythological creatures like unicorns? One of those advisors I just mentioned, Chris Eyre, had this to say of the Wendigo: They [meaning Native peoples] truly, truly believe in it, because it represents greed and colonialism when we first came to the shores of what is now America, and pillaged all of their resources and forced them [into] cannibalism. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. [45] Wrist, the 2016 debut novel by First Nations horror fiction writer Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler (Lac Des Milles Lacs Anishinaabe),[46] combines the traditional Ojibwe legend with the author's ideas inspired by non-Indigenous writers like Anne Rice and Tim Powers. wendigo appropriationplymouth township mi police scanner. Facing History and Ourselves invites educators to explore our case study Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools, particularly our reading "Culture, Stereotypes, and Identity" which features reflection questions surrounding some of the stereotypical media representations that we touch upon at the beginning of this essay. Dollightful's Apology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW-KBzKWvrUTo clear up the addition that I made even more, I think that it would be pretty important for the information on this topic to be easily accessible to her viewers. Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge Part of HuffPost Entertainment. By Christian Chiakulas, Contributor Writer, musician, activist, single father from Chicago. . In Ojibwe, Eastern Cree, Westmain Swampy Cree, Naskapi, and Innu lore, wendigos are often described as giants that are many times larger than human beings, a characteristic absent from myths in other Algonquian cultures. And I accept that the Wendigo can symbolize for them that exploitation. Its incredibly validating to know that other people have heard about it and enjoy the story enough to make reference to the name and concept. Dollightful's Wendigo Doll - Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation? It really depends who you talk to. Replying to @luciproletariatfox #culturalappropriation #wendigoon, #yeti #wendigo #voodoodoll #culturalappropriation, #duet with @firelotusthewitch #culturalappropriation #vvitchtok #vvitch #witchywoman #pagantok #norsepagan #norsetok #pagansoftiktok #pagancommunity, I am curious to hear the opinions of others on this one. Contents 1 History 2 Gallery 3 Trivia 4 Navigation History This form of cultural appropriation is deeply intertwined with systemic and institutionalized racism rooted in capitalism. The idea of getting down to the nitty-gritty came from the 18th century English slave trade, when nitty-gritty referred to the worthless debris left at the ship's bottom compartment after slaves had been evacuatedand evolved to include the slaves themselves. The cultural appropriation police answer the yoga and banh mi objections with a familiar counter-argument: it's about power. The idea that diversity and representation can be addressed simply through a "balance between four guys and four girls" or through the removal of "traditional phallic stabbing" troubles me. Wendigo) from its cultural conte xt and its movement by non-Indigenous . I do know some natives believe you should not say or write its name because that may make it come or you may be infected and become it. It's also linked to the many cultural taboos against these negative actions and behaviors. [56], Various characters inspired by the legend, or named for it, appear in Role-playing video games, such as 2018's Fallout 76 by Bethesda Game Studios, where wendigos are featured as one of the cryptid enemies found in the area of Appalachia, mutated from people who consumed human flesh in isolation. Native Americans, Our headquarters are located at: 89 South Street, Suite 401, Boston, MA 02111. [28] Given that he resorted to cannibalism so near to food supplies, and that he killed and consumed the remains of all those present, it was revealed that Swift Runner's was not a case of pure cannibalism as a last resort to avoid starvation, but rather of a man with Wendigo psychosis. My basic rule is simple: be respectful. "** 40. And unfortunately for them, this isn't the first time. I do not possess the cultural or social knowledge required. does not have antlers or have any wolf features. [13] They were strongly associated with winter, the north, coldness, famine, and starvation.[14]. Basil H. Johnston, an Ojibwe teacher and scholar from Ontario, gives a description of a wendigo: The Wendigo was gaunt to the point of emaciation, its desiccated skin pulled tightly over its bones. If an idea has merit, it doesn't need protecting. Guillermo del Toro, producer of the film, developed the wendigo on the basis that the more the creature eats, the more it gets hungry and the more it gets hungry, the weaker it becomes. Romantic scholar and documentarian Emily Zarka, also a professor at Arizona State University, observes that two commonalities among the indigenous cultures of Algonquian language family speakers are that they are situated in climes where harsh winters are frequent and may be accompanied by starvation. Dressing up as a cultural stereotype is never, ever OK. Cady Heron once remarked that, "in the real world, Halloween is when kids . If it's so vulgar and offensive that many hate it, well they can just not look at it lmao - it clearly wasn't made for them. What I do think is not so great was it could have been something that was corrected for the films, where they do have access to people and the internet was more developed in the mid 2000s. Have you encountered wendigo stories in films, television shows, or books? I can write whatever fiction I want, and draw whatever I want. 5. No cultural appropriation in it, I promise! I would refuse to be shackled by political correctness. Draw/write what you want, I say. Those poor men (according to the report given us) were seized with an ailment unknown to us, but not very unusual among the people we were seeking. Beyond Forbes, other Native American thinkers have also used wendigo stories to present critical perspectives on various social problems and call for their resolution. They heard the Windigo calling the boy. I'm all for respecting other people's cultures, but straight up trying to tell people they can't respectfully depict a fictional creature because it's ,,stealing" or ,,evoking the creature" or something is just way too overboard. So yeah, if anyone could offer any insight/information, thatd be appreciated. Nitty gritty. The novel describes its primary antagonist, a rapist whose violent crimes desecrate a sacred site, as a wendigo who must be killed because he threatens the reservation's safety. without permission.1 Eat what you want to eat, tattoo yourself with whatever you want to tattoo yourself with, wear what you want to wear, and let those ove Continue Reading More answers below LOL. Differing thinking is one of the cherished assets of democratic cultural pluralism. It can serve as a metaphor explaining any pattern of domination by which groups subjugate and dominate or violently destroy and displace. In contrast to modern horror stories that appropriate the wendigo as a plot device, Forbes implies that what actually ought to be terrifying to us is that we live in societies enveloped in violence and exploitation that we struggle to identify as such. And were on the right side, thats what were working on but sometimes you get that cannibal tendency. identity. Topics: As a concept, the wendigo can apply to any person, idea, or movement infected by a corrosive drive toward self-aggrandizing greed and excessive consumption, traits that sow disharmony and destruction if left unchecked. One day they came to an Indian village and the Windigo sent the boy to the Indian village to get some things for him to eat. In some traditions, humans overpowered by greed could turn into wendigos; the myth thus served as a method of encouraging cooperation and moderation. And some natives don't care at all. Further, cultural appropriation often occurs as the backwash of colonization, and contributes to widening existing divisions and perpetuating patterns of historic dispossession and oppression. My Thoughts and Questions OllieOnyx 845 subscribers Subscribe 4.5K 119K views 2 years ago I just posted a new video. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. In, This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 02:58. teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. According to Professor Chris Schedler, the figure of the wendigo represents "consuming forms of exclusion and assimilation" through which groups dominate other groups. And we merely follow".[38]. In Algonquian traditions, the wendigo monster emerges not randomly or in violent response to colonialism as it often does in popular media but through a specific set of circumstances that are unique to different tribal groupings. to tell a new tale. The Wendigos are the ultimate antagonists of Until Dawn. Ten years later, "cultural appropriation" is no longer an obscure academic term . 12. In some cases, this entailed killing people with Wendigo psychosis. It will survive on it's own. I think if a Native American person were telling me not to speak about wendgos or name them out loud near them, I would comply, as I don't want to unreasonably make someone feel anxious or uncomfortable. White authors should be able to write about non-white people. "[37] This application allows Native Americans to describe colonialism and its agents as wendigos since the process of colonialism ejected natives from their land and threw the natural world out of balance. Mythologynote my use of the capital M to convey that it is far more than just some made-up stories; it is stories containing deeper spiritual truthsbelongs to all of humanity. I have drawn my own version of golems too, and that is Jewish mythology. As a creator, I believe it is my responsibility, the responsibility of any creator, if using characters that belong to a culture other than mine and exploring themes from that culture, to be accurate. Joe Lockhard, English professor at Arizona State University, argues that wendigos are agents of "social cannibalism" who know "no provincial or national borders; all human cultures have been visited by shape-shifting wendigos. In another unaware move made by a YG artist, mega girl group BLACKPINK, were recently called out for cultural appropriation. How stupid to think otherwise. So, thanks, Dave! The cannibalistic forest creature is known for allegedly . Im just struggling to understand the significance of it. I always thought these are what cannibals are turning into. wa, which may have meant "owl". Theres something else. [44], Contemporary Indigenous works that explore the legend include the 1995 novel Solar Storms by author and poet Linda K. Hogan (Chickasaw), which explores the stories of the wendigo and incorporates the creatures as a device to interrogate issues of independence, spirituality, politics, an individual's relationship to the family, and as a metaphor for corporate voracity, exploitation, and power - all viewed as a form of cannibalism. [58] Several of these creatures also appear in the game's cover art.[59]. I think people just need to chill out, no mater what their religion and culture is. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Welcome to Facing Today, a Facing History blog. Cultural appropriation is perhaps the stupidest example of the stupidest concept , political correctness , that has ever been argued. In a report from the Contemporary Folklore conference covered in issue 388 of FORTEAN TIMES, the go-to magazine for all things paranormal, weird, or unexplained, a complaint is voiced about the "cultural appropriation" of the Wendigo, likening it to the "sexualization" of the Mothman statue in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. I'm just glad I learned this lesson from her before actually getting my book published. It has no place in the world of Folklore and monsters. The Windigo also has the power to turn humans into cannibals who suffer the same . I have always felt a distinct emotional connection to it, in fact. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Unlike cultural appropriation, strategic anti-essentialism can be practiced by both minority cultures and majority cultures. Lots of stories have aped Native American folklore before her, including some of mine. For example, dressing up as a Native American while using redface and using the gaudiest, most elaborate costume you can think of (using the stereotypical feathered headress, tribal print tan clothing, holding a spear, etc.). no actual cases of windigo psychosis have ever been studied, and Lou Marano's scathing critique in 1985 should have killed off the cannibal monster within the psychiatric annals.