On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Cultural appropriation, feel like a real blur to me but I never worry about it I feel it can dampen the creative process. Historically, deciding exactly what culture is hasn't been easy. Chippewa author Louise Erdrich's novel The Round House, winner of the National Book Award, depicts a situation where an individual person becomes a wendigo. Send them to Marvel. 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. (the proceeding statement may contain some levels of sarcasm.). BTW, I love rainbow farting unicorns! Even before it went live, she was being criticized for her apparently blatant cultural appropriation of Native American folklore, and since publishing the criticism has only grown more pointed. 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. We should show proper respect to our Cryptids at all times, and Im rightfully righteously indignant at the thought of anyone doing otherwise with Mothman. But, but, what if they're looking at something that erodes the moral fabric of civilization? The Windigo also has the power to turn humans into cannibals who suffer the same . It only becomes cultural appropriation when an element of culture is adopted from a marginalized group without respect for its cultural meaning or significance or with the purpose of exploiting the culture Facing History and Ourselves combats racism and antisemitism by using history to teach tolerance in classrooms around the globe. I believe that the Wendigo is far older than that, far more primal. In the course of the transformation from human to wendigo, the person exhibits increasing selfishness, violence, hunger, and greedparticularly for human flesh. It also includes the unauthorized use of parts of their culture (their dress, dance, etc.) arent cryptids thing. It was already here. I think people just need to chill out, no mater what their religion and culture is. Sacred creatures? wa, which may have meant "owl". 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. As it so happens, I am currently working on a project involving a Wendigo, so this is personal to me. Windigo is a malevolent manitou or spirit whose insatiable appetite for human flesh can never be satisfied. 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. 17spaz 2 yr. ago Dollightful's Wendigo Doll - Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation? 9 Neil Jamieson-Williams Science Fiction Writer (part-time/now full-time) at Self-Employment (1977-present) Author has 1.7K answers and 1.1M answer views Updated 6 mo Ah, another Mike Wilson question [clarification needed] The ceremony, known as wiindigookaanzhimowin, was performed during times of famine, and involved wearing masks and dancing backward around a drum. The Cambridge Dictionary, defines it as "the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture."And a lot of times, it is marked by a dominant culture taking from one that has been colonized and oppressed . Im glad, because I dont believe that it is. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. That's an easy solution and I still keep my freedom to create. Thus I support Scott Cooper, the director of the forthcoming (hopefully by next spring) ANTLERS, in his efforts to seek out consultation from Indian advisors when making his movie, which features a Wendigo. The deaths of tens of millions of Jews, Slavs, etc., at the hands of the Nazis, the deaths of tens of millions of blacks in slavery days, the deaths of up to 30 million or more Indians in the 1500s, the terribly short life spans of Mexican Indian farm workers in the US, and of Native Americans generally today, the high death rates in the early industrial centers among factory workers, and so on, all clearly attest to the fact that the wealthy and exploitative literally consume the lives of those that they exploit. But overall I can't stand JKR. Ill admit, my initial reaction was very dismissive. New replies are no longer allowed. Part of HuffPost Entertainment. With teepees, Im not sure I get it. But I do know the actual description of it. I do not know, nor can I. Okay, dont anybody get me wrong. Rowling tries (and fails) to mitigate these implications by saying "although it is generally held to be a mark of the very greatest witches and wizards that they have also been able to produce wandless magic of a very high quality." When I got over my initial bout of self-defensiveness, I realized I was totally wrong. So yeah, if anyone could offer any insight/information, thatd be appreciated. 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. An uncontrollable craving for consuming human flesh, even if a plenty of other food is available. Discover short videos related to wendigo cultural appropriation on TikTok. 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. 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. Tell us about it in the comments. America is the symbol of inclusion, so as part of the American culture we embrace foreign influences in our society. 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. People don't get offended on scotland's behalf over the common depiction of their national animal as a rainbow farting fairy horse. Learn how your comment data is processed. What makes the wendigo any different from other culturally important mythological creatures like unicorns? Now why cant that be said to prudes lurking here. Pet Sematary is an important cultural artifact thanks to King's widespread popularity and recognition as a horror writer. I do not possess the cultural or social knowledge required. Is it okay for a white person to celebrate the culture. (1961). Until Dawn logo. (Not to put too fine a point on it, but you should totally go buy my novella. Archived post. 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. Cookie Notice These things feel formulaic, quantitative, mathematicbalancing equations and subtraction. And they are worth considering including in one's classroom teaching. J.K. Rowling, author of the absurdly-popular Harry Potter series (of which I'm a massive fan), recently waded into controversy with her four-part "Magic in North America" series, which outlines the Potterverse's American history. No they ain't. [18], A wendigo need not lose the human's powers of cognition or speech and in some depictions may clearly communicate with its prospective victims or even threaten or taunt them. For other uses, see, Graham, John Russell; John Coates; Barbara Swartzentruber; Brian Ouellette; ", harvcoltxt error: no target: CITEREFSchwarz1969 (, International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, descriptive template for the Indian savage, corporate voracity, exploitation, and power, "Windigo: The Flesh-Eating Monster of Native American Legend", International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, "Windigo, the Ice Cannibal (Wendigo, Wiindigoo, Windgo, Windego)", "Relations des Jsuites contenant ce qui s'est pass de plus remarquable dans les missions des Pres de la Compagnie de Jsus dans la Nouvelle-France", "The Jesuit Relations: Travels and Expectations of the Jesuit Missionaries in New France, 16101791", "Love, and Death in Stephen King's 'Pet Sematary', "The In Character Interview with Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler", "Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler on writing an Indigenous horror story", "ANTLERS: GUILLERMO DEL TORO E SCOTT COOPER SVELANO IL SIGNIFICATO DEL WENDIGO", "Supernatural - Season 1, Episode 2: Wendigo", "Fallout 76 Creatures: Bethesda Tells Tales of the Wendigo", "The Wiitiko Psychosis in the Context of Ojibwa Personality and Culture", Seeing Wetiko: on Capitalism, Mind Viruses, and Antidotes for a World in Transition, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wendigo&oldid=1139431905, Legendary creatures of the indigenous peoples of North America, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism, Articles with text in Algonquian languages, Articles containing Proto-Algonquian-language text, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from March 2022, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Articles with failed verification from August 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Teicher, Morton I. I can write whatever fiction I want, and draw whatever I want. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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. I am so offended! 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. Now neither Christian culture is by any means endangered to become a minority (although some US Bible Belt hate preachers consistently claim so) nor is Chinese culture, so both are out of ansatz here. As researchers, most of us are lost in a wilderness filled with Windigo, Skinwalkers and various other indigenous cosmological entities, and we need to recognize we have no idea what we are talking about. 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. [5], In his 2004 treatise Revenge of the Windigo on disorders and treatments of the behavioral health industry in the United States and Canada that are peculiar to indigenous people, James B. Waldram wrote,[34]. to tell a new tale. The Windigo had a knife and he'd cut the boy on the hand to see if he was fat enough to eat, but the boy didn't get fat. I think it's okay because you're not trying to rewrite actual history or actual legend. . without permission.1 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. The name comes from the animal's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats. It is unknown if it would have been an entire species or a singular creature. 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? White authors should be able to write about non-white people. Sentences like "The Native American wizarding community was particularly gifted in animal and plant magic" are cringe-worthy if you give them a little thought, and the notion that only European wizards were clever enough to invent wands, which make magic "more precise and more powerful" borders on horrific levels of cluelessness. But if they actually did, I would pick another monster from the giant Pandemonium one has at one's choice. And you know what? I wouldn't be offended if someone dressed as a stereotypical Scottish person whatever that looks like lol. In 1661, The Jesuit Relations reported: People were not really using Google until the 2000s and that kind of info might have not been available in the 90s. 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. 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. 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 [25], One of the more famous cases of Wendigo psychosis reported involved a Plains Cree trapper from Alberta, named Swift Runner. and our 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. He writes: Wtiko is a Cree termwhich refers to a cannibal or, more specifically, to an evil person or spirit who terrorizes other creatures by means of terrible evil acts, including cannibalism I have come to the conclusion that imperialism and exploitation are forms of cannibalism and, in fact, are precisely those forms of cannibalism which are most diabolical or evil It should be understood that wtikos do not eat other humans only in a symbolic sense. Thats just asking for trouble.) This form of cultural appropriation is deeply intertwined with systemic and institutionalized racism rooted in capitalism. If I don't, I'll never know what it is I'm so angry about! Certainly Navajo "skin walkers" are one of the more common Native American legends that non-native writers reference (the only other example I can think of that comes close is the Algonquin Wendigo), but like I said, it would be presumptuous of me to guess at Rowling's research style. Cultural appropriation refers to the use of objects or elements of a non-dominant culture in a way that reinforces stereotypes or contributes to oppression and doesn't respect their original meaning or give credit to their source. Handle the characters and the story with respect. You dont have to be of Afro-Caribbean descent to talk about, write about, or make movies about zombies. If I can draw my own version of a Chinese dragon, or my own version of angel or demon, I can draw a wendigo. They heard the Windigo calling the boy. She annoys the hell out of me. 1. 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.). 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. PSA: These 11 Halloween "Costumes" Will Always Be Offensive. Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge My Thoughts and Questions OllieOnyx 845 subscribers Subscribe 4.5K 119K views 2 years ago I just posted a new video. Latvians have their own version of Thor, so I probably should be offended, as well. . And were on the right side, thats what were working on but sometimes you get that cannibal tendency. But Native Americans shouldn't be a "niche," and neither should women, LGBT people, or people of color. 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. "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. Watch popular content from the following creators: Thorn (@shr00mermaid), Thorn (@shr00mermaid), Nuoance(@nuoance), MattHatterPlays(@matthatterplays), Aidan Mattis(@theaidanmattis) . Some researchers argued that, essentially, Wendigo psychosis was a fabrication, the result of nave anthropologists taking stories related to them at face value without observation. Don't miss a beat. #QuickBooksVictoryPose #vtuber #culturalappropriation #nativeamerican #wendigo #folklore, justin bieber interview with ellen arranged marriage, Airplane ticket off at terminal five on 2023 on the 10th 2023, enriquecrespo habla de la hija de alexandra, Command too spawn in iron in a township tale. 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. Differing thinking is one of the cherished assets of democratic cultural pluralism. For more information, please see our Just as the vampire and werewolf do not belong exclusively to people of European descent and the Mummy doesnt belong to Egyptians. Native Americans, Our headquarters are located at: 89 South Street, Suite 401, Boston, MA 02111. Mythical being in Native American folklore, "Windigo" redirects here. 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. [42] In an early short story by Thomas Pynchon, "Mortality and Mercy in Vienna" (first published in 1959), the plot centers around a character developing Wendigo syndrome and going on a killing spree. (Anything that isnt outright vandalism isnt likely to harm the statue at all, but I wouldnt dare do anything disrespectful around it. Only those entitled to them should wear them. It was forbidden to resort to this practice, even out of desperation. [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. After thinking about it more, I think I get it about the wendigos. I am ashamed I watched all the movies. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. According to Professor Chris Schedler, the figure of the wendigo represents "consuming forms of exclusion and assimilation" through which groups dominate other groups. [26][27] During the winter of 1878, Swift Runner and his family were starving, and his eldest son died. 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. 5. This inspired an entire thread -->, Sucks to be these artists I guess. Privacy Policy. For more information, please see our I wouldn't be offended if someone dressed up as a stereotypical native american even though my great grandma was half blackfoot native american. C'est la maladie dont ces dputez furent atteints; et comme la mort est l'vnique remede parmy ces bonnes gens, pour arrester ces meurtres, ils ont est massacrez pour arrester le cours de leur manie. The use of the creature in horror stories . The "Dark Horse" singer . 8.1.2014. While Bieber's locs may be perceived . You dont have to be French to love the Phantom of the Opera. No, I read your comment. Some of this critique was rightly directed at literal cultural theft . No it isn't cultural appropriation, as long as it is researched and accurately presented in the story. Their visitations speak to the inseparability of human experience National identity is irrelevant to this borderless horror. Still though, Im not sure I fully get the Native American spirits(?) How stupid to think otherwise. To Helheimr with it! [2], Although distinct from how it appears in the traditional lore, one of the first appearances of a character inspired by, or named after, a wendigo in non-Indigenous literature is Algernon Blackwood's 1910 novella The Wendigo. See more. are not cryptids, and don't even traditionally have deer skulls for heads.