0000005961 00000 n George warns those who are leaving about the Wendigo myth: anyone who consumes the flesh of their enemies takes their strength but becomes a demon cursed by an insatiable hunger for more human flesh. %%EOF We do the same thing with a lot of mythological creatures. This article analyses prominent examples of the Wendigo myth in modern North American horror media and the implications of misappropriation by non-Indigenous creators for non-Indigenous audiences. s\&|5T!JN04hy'I0 1pv=~0-K$k}xSK"g:O*ox&zGa13(YXzy_{v-N^!c@[H This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Still though, Im not sure I fully get the Native American spirits(?) Western appropriation has long-lasting effects on the perceptions of Native American cultures by the average consumer and even scientific communities. 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 Participate in good faith. Why the Wendigo is Not My Monster - Mysterious Universe Cultural appropriation of Native American culture | Plaid Line (A friend sent this screenshot to me, along with the info, because he knows how much PC-ism pisses me off. It may be used to justify calling. 0000007477 00000 n Thats just asking for trouble.) 0000000016 00000 n Smith and Fiore detail that, among the Cree and northernmost Ojibwa, it is a feared creature because it is understood as both a 'mythic character' and as a threat to humans (2010: 68). Please report rule violations. 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. 1 0 obj A classic example is wearing a Plains Indian war bonnet (see the 80s band The Village People). Cultural appropriation is the co-optation of elements, customs, or practices of one culture by another culture without acknowledgment or consent. You dont have to be of Afro-Caribbean descent to talk about, write about, or make movies about zombies. His line of questioning effectively asks what if the monstrosity we face is actually not an otherworldly presence but our all too human selves?. the origins don't even depict the w*ndigo with deer antlers, but a human with bitten off lips. This article's cross-media analysis covers television, film and game media; Teen Wolf (2011-17), Supernatural (2005-20), Bruce Wemple's The Retreat (2020) and SuperMassive Games' Until Dawn . Sorry, this post was deleted by the person who originally posted it. 4 0 obj Windigo is a malevolent manitou or spirit whose insatiable appetite for human flesh can never be satisfied. From Stephen Kings Pet Sematary to the television series Hanibal, the flesh-eating image of the wendigo is often presented apart from its original cultural contexts where it carries deep moral significance. For resources: http://reddit.com/r/SRSDiscussion/wiki/required. Hunchman, K. N. (2020). Im glad, because I dont believe that it is. And you know what? The Wendigo may be a figure from American Indian mythology, but it belongs to all of humankind. A Creature Without a Cave | Reinvention: an International Journal of If you were to look around the world about other religions, anything that is associated with death and disease is regarded upon. A Creature Without a Cave: Abstraction and (Mis)Appropriation of the This subreddit is about sharing your worlds, discovering the creations of others, and discussing the many aspects of creating new universes. Have you encountered wendigo stories in films, television shows, or books? Stolen Spirits | Digital Literature Review - Ball State University I read some stuff yesterday saying that teepees are cultural appropriation and there was a long post about how wendigos arent cryptids and how stories about them are cultural appropriation. l Ca#!LzH{t+8W5 !2*_{)rgx-`]CTXSH($g 0000000974 00000 n Learn how your comment data is processed. The wendigo is intended to embody hunger, particularly as refracted through the icy cold of winter and the monstrous things that people do when their appetites overwhelm them. Beyond Forbes, other Native American thinkers have also used wendigo stories to present critical perspectives on various social problems and call for their resolution. 0000009596 00000 n 2 0 obj MORTUI VELOCES SUNT! Only assholes think thats offensive. % Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 0000002723 00000 n This articlescross-media analysiscovers television, film and game media;Teen Wolf(201117),Supernatural(200520), Bruce WemplesThe Retreat(2020) and SuperMassive GamesUntil Dawn(2015). Tell us about it in the comments. Native Americans, Our headquarters are located at: 89 South Street, Suite 401, Boston, MA 02111. And were on the right side, thats what were working on but sometimes you get that cannibal tendency. Privacy Policy. 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. 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. (Think Noah from . Now that I have a major problem with. Archived post. endobj ])yB\}OIZyY8 aA6Vo !C_D#!MYik.1>%'5ryZ*>fb=n#_dr;j5 { 0000013308 00000 n Wendigos, teepees and cultural appropriation : r/socialjustice101 - Reddit Digital Literature Review 1 Stolen Spirits: The Appropriation of the 246 33 His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 On top of that, the wendigo is a part of death. endobj however, the w*ndigo originates from spiritual beliefs held by Indigenous peoples. 246 0 obj <> endobj When she was brought to the lab she already had the curse of the Wendigo but after she was "updated" she had visible antlers and could change her shape. 0000004071 00000 n Cookie Notice P\^$'$@YWSB;Td54BD?YH"'kh::a;Vqz&4|:>)xP2n |94NrOqE'6 You must be here to either learn more about social justice or answer questions from a social justice viewpoint. I have always felt a distinct emotional connection to it, in fact. Dollightful's Wendigo Doll - Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation? Until Dawn: On Representation, the Horror Genre, and the Illusion of J.K. Rowling's Cultural Appropriation Should Be A Lesson To White Writers Native Americans shouldn't be a "niche," and neither should women, LGBT people, or people of color. Appropriating the Wendigo As it so happens, I am currently working on a project involving a Wendigo, so this is personal to me. Handle the characters and the story with respect. Answer (1 of 6): First and foremost, I'm not telling you this because I personally have a problem with you dressing as a wendigo for a cryptid fair, but we are living in an age of cancel culture where a costume you sported ten years ago might be used against you. During a panel at YES! This space is not for debate. 4. PDF Windigo manitou - Portland State University Answer (1 of 8): Yes, unless actively researched with proper resources and talked to with First Nation folks as proof-readers. 0000003862 00000 n The Witherell House and the Cult of Weird, Movie Review: BIRDS OF PREY (And the Fantabulous Inclusion of Victor Zsasz and a Hyena). It springs from the well of the collective human unconscious, the communal soul. That taste of human flesh, which out of that rose the wendigo.. Theres something else. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Facing History and Ourselves combats racism and antisemitism by using history to teach tolerance in classrooms around the globe. it's just something thats been bothering me so i thought it'd come to reddit to see what other people thought. One does not need to delve very deeply into the annals of American film, television, and literature to find an array of caricatured depictions of Native American peoples and a distortion of their knowledge. 2. Welcome to Facing Today, a Facing History blog. Found out that my Wendigo creature is insensitive. What should - Reddit Stolen Spirits: The Appropriation of the Windigo Spirit in Horror Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge It was intended to be a lesson on human greed and the damage it can cause. I believe that the Wendigo is far older than that, far more primal. More Than Monsters: The Deeper Significance of Wendigo Stories Theyre revered spirits to the point where people wont speak their name so it must be frustrating when people are just like Oh yeah, I saw one of those, it was so spooky or have an aesthetic called wendigocore. She is Native American. 0000005554 00000 n There's nothing wrong with drawing the popular concept of a wendigo monster, or drawing any monster with antlers, and calling it a wendigo. The Wendigo happens to be part of my own (Anishiinaabe) cultural heritage. HeyYaIQ 21 days ago. Even in the face of ongoing cultural appropriation and erasure, wendigo stories are but one reflection of the survivance, wisdom, and brilliance of Native peoples. media has really misconstrued the original lore and importance of the w*ndigo to Indigenous culture. When you comment on, Asian American and Pacific Islander History, Race and Membership in American History: Eugenics. Turning on 0000012791 00000 n so im sort of clueless how reddit works and made an account for this, so bare with me. 0000012030 00000 n It has become something else altogether. Political correctness started out as one thing, a good thing. With teepees, Im not sure I get it. 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. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. And whoever!). Not only is it not offensive, I LOVE seeing references to wendigos in popular culture! 0000023412 00000 n Antlers: The Wendigo Monster's History, Explained - CBR I'm just struggling to understand the significance of it. T[,%q5 Stolen Spirits: The Appropriation of the Windigo Spirit in Horror Literature. Those things, the predation on the Indians by Europeans, most certainly happened. More Than Monsters: The Deeper Significance of Wendigo Stories, often presented apart from its original cultural contexts, At Facing History and Ourselves, we value conversationin classrooms, in our professional development for educators, and online. It's taboo to the Anishaabe people, but the common depiction of it in media is no where near the original frozen cannibal spirit that the legends are based off of. That's just pulling a potential explanation out of my ass, though, I have no idea if its accurate or not. 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. Is it cultural appropriation for a white author to use a Native 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. 0000005304 00000 n Abstract. And they are worth considering including in ones classroom teaching. This is a story shared not merely for entertainment but to reinforce the communal values that allow the communities in which this practice occurs to live well with one another and within their environments. %PDF-1.4 % And I accept that the Wendigo can symbolize for them that exploitation. Cultural appropriation consists of borrowing something from another culture in mockery or thoughtless misuse. This is a place to learn more bout Social Justice Is it Cultural Appropriation if I have a Wendigo character? Im just struggling to understand the significance of it. 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. 278 0 obj <>stream To Helheimr with it! <> Since the concept of a wendigo stems from First Nations folklore, maybe someone making a cute little doll of this evil spirit figure was seen as inappropriate or making fun of their culture? He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. Western appropriation has long-lasting effects on the perceptions of Native American cultures by the average consumer and even scientific communities. So, thanks, Dave! Ravenous (1999 film) - Wikipedia If you do go as a specific person, avoid figures of religious or cultural significance to a particular group to which you do not belong. 0000001546 00000 n 0000003976 00000 n 17spaz 2 yr. ago 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). symL,JyvCq;[H~! trailer The windigo is a Native American spirit belonging to the Algonquian tribes of North America and Canada. No one can try to stake a singular claim to it. Wendigo - Wikipedia In the course of the transformation from human to wendigo, the person exhibits increasing selfishness, violence, hunger, and greedparticularly for human flesh. 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. 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. 0000007047 00000 n By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Ill admit, my initial reaction was very dismissive. I dont know who originally posted it, or where. o&g( Sponsored by Ball State University Libraries. She's part of a group of young adults created in a lab (she's the only one who wasn't) who have these special abilities. 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. 0000009056 00000 n 3 0 obj Posts and comments should be substantive, and assertions backed in fact or personal lived experience. i enjoy his content, but the w*ndigo is part of a closed religion and is supposed to be a lesson about human greed and selfishness, not a cannibal monster story. However, PCism taken to its extreme would say that neither Cooper, nor I, should be telling stories about Wendigos at all, since were not of aboriginal descent. I think she knew that her decision would be challenged and she wanted to let people know that she had valid reasons for doing what she did. arent cryptids thing. This analysis will trace the process of these media, made by non-Indigenous white creators, removing the Wendigos indigeneity and placing it within fictional settings as an antagonist. Halloween Costumes That Are Actually Racist, Even if You Might - Bustle i love the videos uploaded to youtube and try to keep up with posts, so this is by no means a bash at Wendigoon. Posted by I just posted a new video talking about cultural appropriation and art! If so, what did you think about it? 0000012532 00000 n Appropriating the Wendigo | Werewolves The Wendigo is a 'terrifying cannibal ice monster that has its genesis in stories of people forced into cannibalism by the long winter' (Smith and Fiore, 2010: 68). Why are wendigos seen as offensive? : r/NoStupidQuestions - Reddit Copyright 2022 Facing History & Ourselves. More Than Monsters: The Deeper Significance of Wendigo Stories The concept of cultural appropriation began well enough, but just like everything else woke culture political correctness, it's gone way too far. I analyze the way the windigo are represented in Western literature and argue that Native American spirits should belong to the cultures they originate from. 0000004651 00000 n wendigo cultural appropriation [26][27] During the winter of 1878, Swift Runner and his family were starving, and his eldest son died. and our startxref After thinking about it some more, I understand that its a kind of It was okay for these kids to pretend to be Indians but not for these kids to actually be Indians thing but I saw someone claim that it was contributing to colonisation and the death of death of their culture and that felt a bit strong. By Christian Chiakulas, Contributor Writer, musician, activist, single father from Chicago. and our 0000008549 00000 n That, I would affirm, is truly and literally cannibalism, and it is cannibalism accompanied by no spiritually meaningful ceremony or ritual., More than a commentary on the life of wendigo stories amongst his own people, Forbes deploys the metaphor of the wendigo to advance nothing less than a critique of civilization at large and describes the violence that he argues lies at its foundation as one driven by a kind of wendigo psychosis. endobj Usually, the appropriating culture is in a relation of domination to the appropriated culture. 13 Cultural Appropriation Examples (2023) - Helpful Professor a lot of Natives and people in general don't even like saying the word itself. 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. This construction is problematic in the horror genre as it presents an Indigenous antagonist that poses a threat to white culture for its otherness and indigeneity while at the same time, misappropriating, discarding and demonising the Indigenous culture the myth comes from, at whim. 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. they've been stripped of cultural context. Privacy Policy. Learn how your comment data is processed. U%.CI$ FKe{CiV/\Lg1DD$A!=FHD6 EInw^9qkCh&1rvR'`{7X wEB7Az~q0n8 t)$xh1rQJ,p>O/$-J)'OTk|m9(k|6U g/-JU;WM}7d5)V.yX=Qu,TDI+CA_5U|nH$WK7G3-aYaqeV2jWQV6C6OY"W5?x;f_27j3Y)/G`j|e9NHCp+-r4g7D? c! His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 This article analyses prominent examples of the Wendigo myth in modern North American horror media and the implications of misappropriation by non-Indigenous creators for non-Indigenous audiences. Europeans may well have behaved like Wendigos when they invaded the Americasthey didbut they didnt bring the Wendigo with them. appropriation that has troubled the exchange between Indigenous . Dollightful's Wendigo Doll - Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation? My It can serve as a metaphor explaining any pattern of domination by which groups subjugate and dominate or violently destroy and displace. These bonnets are symbols of warrior achievements and are the equivalent of military medals. WAYNE MILLER is the owner and creative director of EVIL CHEEZ PRODUCTIONS (www.evilcheezproductions.blogspot.com, www.facebook.com/evilcheezproductions), specializing in theatrical performances and haunted attractions. It has no place in the world of Folklore and monsters. "@TheThiccholas @realcoolJAY They can't say Issa wendigo cus of cultural appropriation props to them buuuuuut also WENDIGO type energy sooo " teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. And besides that, it never hurts to include your sources. The Windigo also has the power to turn humans into cannibals who suffer the same . Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Magazine with fellow environmental thought leaders, LaDuke said: Theres this conflict between the cannibals and Mother Earth, and its going on everywhere. However, it never provents for people of that tribe to share this and that story. As much as I would love to tell everyone to just read her sources and then be able to understand everything better, I just don't think that's realistic for most people(because they are not easily accessible to most, and I don't think that was her intention by including these in her description. Kaitlin Smith on November 30, 2021. 0000006529 00000 n How stupid to think otherwise. +9*]aty``mZm/[= ${2R{!g=b{B,L0R2"T]IDa. These new narratives that white people make fail to acknowledge that the wendigo, and the Indi. 0000010971 00000 n 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. 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. 7 (2020): Ghosts and Cultural Hauntings. Scan this QR code to download the app now. One recurring theme across these storytelling mediums is the use of the wendigoalso spelled wtikoa monstrous figure from Algonquian mythology who exhibits an insatiable greed along with a desire for human flesh. You dont have to be French to love the Phantom of the Opera. But as far as cultural appropriation and the Wendigo goes, dont you daredont you DAREtry to take our monsters away from us, PC wankers! When the soldiers reach Ives' cave, Boyd and Reich investigate. stream One example is Ojibwe activist Winona LaDuke who has called for a decisive shift away from what she has termed Wendigo Economics for the sake of the health of the natural world. Although well-documented in Western literature, the windigo spirit of stories like . Although this article is specifically observing the Wendigo, I argue that it is one of many caveless creatures, and the treatment of them by creators of non-Indigenous horror genre should be analysed in the future. So yeah, if anyone could offer any insight/information, thatd be appreciated. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. <>/Metadata 266 0 R/ViewerPreferences 267 0 R>> spellings (see Colombo 2) but is most commonly rendered as Windigo, Wendigo, or Witiko. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Copyright (c) 2022 Francesca Amee Johnson, https://doi.org/10.31273/reinvention.v15iS1.906, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, Accepts submissions from any undergraduate student, worldwide, including student-staff collaborations (student must be lead author), Edited by students and staff at the University of Warwick and Monash University. 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. In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. 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. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. The paper concludes that employing the Wendigo as a caveless creature is a common practice within horror as it easily creates a villain for white protagonists to defeat repeatedly. 0000010400 00000 n Cooper and del Toro made the conscious decision to tell the story of the wendigo in a way that is respectful to its Native American roots, which in turn helps make Antlers a more authentic horror film. Driving down a dark quiet highway in Southern Manitoba, a man sees someone bent over on the side of the road. For more information, please see our Only those entitled to them should wear them. I know what cultural appropriation is but Ive not been as involved in social justice as I used to be and I guess its showing. i don't know if anyone has talked about this, but i have a special interest in Native American culture, history, etc. After thinking about it more, I think I get it about the wendigos. Check it out here:https://youtu.be/fHE4fkvUpWMI really just made this video to express how I am currently feeling about the wendigo doll situation and the questions I have about it. <> 0000011489 00000 n The windigo is a per-sonal spirit that still belongs to the Native American cultures from which it has been taken, and the appropriation of this spirit harms Native American communities by poorly representing their beliefs for a marketable gain.
wendigo appropriation