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. I have this character in a webcomic I want to write who is a Wendigo. There's nothing wrong with drawing the popular concept of a wendigo monster, or drawing any monster with antlers, and calling it a wendigo. 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. Apparently it's wrong to draw wendigos for Halloween This articlescross-media analysiscovers television, film and game media;Teen Wolf(201117),Supernatural(200520), Bruce WemplesThe Retreat(2020) and SuperMassive GamesUntil Dawn(2015). 0000008549 00000 n T[,%q5 And were on the right side, thats what were working on but sometimes you get that cannibal tendency. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 0000003862 00000 n Indigenous, The creation of new worlds and new universes has long been a key element of speculative fiction, from the fantasy works of Tolkien and Le Guin, to the science-fiction universes of Delany and Asimov, to the tabletop realm of Gygax and Barker, and beyond. I have named this observation of the Wendigothe Caveless Creature phenomenon. Wendigos, teepees and cultural appropriation I read some stuff yesterday saying that teepees are cultural appropriation and there was a long post about how wendigos aren't cryptids and how stories about them are cultural appropriation. 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. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. 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. Usually, the appropriating culture is in a relation of domination to the appropriated culture. 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. Ojibwe scholar Dr. Brady Santi has developed this guide for teachers who would like to teach students about her communitys unique belief systems with an emphasis on the wendigo as it appears in popular films. 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. Ill admit, my initial reaction was very dismissive. Vol. 0000004651 00000 n Not only is it not offensive, I LOVE seeing references to wendigos in popular culture! (Think Noah from . 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. 246 0 obj <> endobj Thats just asking for trouble.) It has no place in the world of Folklore and monsters. wendigo cultural appropriation stream trailer 0000012532 00000 n And whoever!). <>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 595.32 841.92] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> Theres something else. 0000008020 00000 n 0000023412 00000 n Posted by Copyright 2022 Facing History & Ourselves. Only assholes think thats offensive. Stolen Spirits: The Appropriation of the Windigo Spirit in Horror Literature. Early folklore described them as tall and impossibly emaciated humanoids with sharp incisors and a heart of ice. Wendigos, teepees and cultural appropriation : r/socialjustice101 - Reddit Abstract. 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. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. (A friend sent this screenshot to me, along with the info, because he knows how much PC-ism pisses me off. 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. The moral lessons contained in wendigo stories are also used to support the task of social critique in the late Native American scholar Dr. Jack D. Forbes' book Columbus and Other Cannibals: The Wtiko Disease of Exploitation, Imperialism, and Terrorism (1978).There, he uses the cannibalistic wendigo as a metaphor for the behaviors and attitudes central to patterns of social domination . With the comments turned off on Dollightful's apology video, I thought that maybe we could have some discussion here(if anyone ever sees this, anyway). 0000006529 00000 n 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. We do the same thing with a lot of mythological creatures. 0000000974 00000 n 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. 0000001546 00000 n 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. symL,JyvCq;[H~! spellings (see Colombo 2) but is most commonly rendered as Windigo, Wendigo, or Witiko. <<410561E535828C4ABA4EA5627C70A225>]/Prev 78716/XRefStm 1365>> 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. For more information, please see our For resources: http://reddit.com/r/SRSDiscussion/wiki/required. 0000013308 00000 n Finally, it's just not that hard to do two minutes of. :)Looking to buy some stickers or look at some pictures of my art or my other things? P\^$'$@YWSB;Td54BD?YH"'kh::a;Vqz&4|:>)xP2n |94NrOqE'6 however, the w*ndigo originates from spiritual beliefs held by Indigenous peoples. 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. If you were to look around the world about other religions, anything that is associated with death and disease is regarded upon. Scan this QR code to download the app now. 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. More Than Monsters: The Deeper Significance of Wendigo Stories Political correctness started out as one thing, a good thing. Would getting a tattoo of the wendigo be cultural appropriation - Quora Political Correctness and the Wendigo | Werewolves 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 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. 0000003465 00000 n 2 0 obj 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. So yeah, if anyone could offer any insight/information, thatd be appreciated. As it so happens, I am currently working on a project involving a Wendigo, so this is personal to me. teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. Although well-documented in Western literature, the windigo spirit of stories like . This is a place to learn more bout Social Justice Have you encountered wendigo stories in films, television shows, or books? 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. Facing History and Ourselves combats racism and antisemitism by using history to teach tolerance in classrooms around the globe. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 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. Appropriating the Wendigo As it so happens, I am currently working on a project involving a Wendigo, so this is personal to me. 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. This space is not for debate. a lot of Natives and people in general don't even like saying the word itself. <>/Metadata 266 0 R/ViewerPreferences 267 0 R>> But as far as cultural appropriation and the Wendigo goes, dont you daredont you DAREtry to take our monsters away from us, PC wankers! In this paper, I document the depictions of windigo in Native American mythology, those of Western literature, and the effects of appropriation and misrepresentation on Native communities. To Helheimr with it! 0000012030 00000 n w*ndigo stuff : r/wendigoon - Reddit 0000004071 00000 n l Ca#!LzH{t+8W5 !2*_{)rgx-`]CTXSH($g 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. Marvel Comics pay tribute to classic Monsters. 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? 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. 0000009596 00000 n 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. On top of that, the wendigo is a part of death. the origins don't even depict the w*ndigo with deer antlers, but a human with bitten off lips. It was already here. 0000007477 00000 n wendigo cultural appropriation [26][27] During the winter of 1878, Swift Runner and his family were starving, and his eldest son died. Please report rule violations. 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. In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. I have always felt a distinct emotional connection to it, in fact. 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. Is it Cultural Appropriation if I have a Wendigo character? 246 33 0000010400 00000 n Scan this QR code to download the app now. These bonnets are symbols of warrior achievements and are the equivalent of military medals. %%EOF By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. arent cryptids thing. ])yB\}OIZyY8 aA6Vo !C_D#!MYik.1>%'5ryZ*>fb=n#_dr;j5 { After thinking about it more, I think I get it about the wendigos. 1 0 obj Privacy Policy. 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. That is why we know about the wendigo today, it is an oral tradition like all the . 0000003976 00000 n J.K. Rowling's Cultural Appropriation Should Be A Lesson To - HuffPost These new narratives that white people make fail to acknowledge that the wendigo, and the Indi. Although well-documented in Western literature, the windigo spirit of stories like Pet Sematary by Stephen King and The Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood are stripped of their original context and are mere stereotypes of the cultures they originate from. MORTUI VELOCES SUNT! Scan this QR code to download the app now. Still though, Im not sure I fully get the Native American spirits(?) hb```b``Ub`e``s`g@ ~+ a1fm{s/K5N9MHd@*2Ey]#B}>x,&ucrnhm:HkN=_B }Wzp.S#WCXi;dRa ,.0H*. As I mentioned during our latest episode of the NYMG podcast, I've been playing Until Dawn, and the game has got me thinking about a few different things that I'd like to spend some time parsing through, like the game's representation of things like gender and race, how it is that the idea of choice seems to influence the way we think about these representations, and the manner in which . 4. Ravenous (1999 film) - Wikipedia 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. During a panel at YES! He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. 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). Windigo is a malevolent manitou or spirit whose insatiable appetite for human flesh can never be satisfied. it's just something thats been bothering me so i thought it'd come to reddit to see what other people thought. %PDF-1.7 appropriation that has troubled the exchange between Indigenous . Digital Literature Review 1 Stolen Spirits: The Appropriation of the Why the Wendigo is Not My Monster - Mysterious Universe 4 0 obj That's just pulling a potential explanation out of my ass, though, I have no idea if its accurate or not. Rules: A classic example is wearing a Plains Indian war bonnet (see the 80s band The Village People). 7 (2020): Ghosts and Cultural Hauntings. She is Native American. This subreddit is about sharing your worlds, discovering the creations of others, and discussing the many aspects of creating new universes. 3. 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. When the soldiers reach Ives' cave, Boyd and Reich investigate. 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. Appropriating the Wendigo | Werewolves Cookie Notice 0000005554 00000 n 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. The concept of cultural appropriation began well enough, but just like everything else woke culture political correctness, it's gone way too far. In the course of the transformation from human to wendigo, the person exhibits increasing selfishness, violence, hunger, and greedparticularly for human flesh. Dollightful's Wendigo Doll - Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation? My Topics: 0000007047 00000 n The Windigo also has the power to turn humans into cannibals who suffer the same . In the course of the transformation from human to wendigo, the person exhibits increasing selfishness, violence, hunger, and greed particularly for human flesh. Europeans may well have behaved like Wendigos when they invaded the Americasthey didbut they didnt bring the Wendigo with them. 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. +9*]aty``mZm/[= ${2R{!g=b{B,L0R2"T]IDa. Halloween Costumes That Are Actually Racist, Even if You Might - Bustle The Wendigo may be a figure from American Indian mythology, but it belongs to all of humankind. He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. 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. Turning on and our 0000009484 00000 n It can serve as a metaphor explaining any pattern of domination by which groups subjugate and dominate or violently destroy and displace. It was intended to be a lesson on human greed and the damage it can cause. <> Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge By looking at the depictions of windigo in these specific Western stories and in Native American beliefs, it is possible to see how stripping spirits of their original contexts is harmful to Native communities. Hunchman, K. N. (2020). I dont know who originally posted it, or where. My Thoughts and Questions OllieOnyx 845 subscribers Subscribe 4.5K 119K views 2 years ago I just posted a new video talking. 0000000016 00000 n 13 Cultural Appropriation Examples (2023) - Helpful Professor 278 0 obj <>stream Is it offensive to wear a wendigo costume? For context I'm - Quora 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. so im sort of clueless how reddit works and made an account for this, so bare with me. And you know what? Learn how your comment data is processed. Cultural appropriation of Native American culture | Plaid Line 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! It springs from the well of the collective human unconscious, the communal soul. As a concept, wendigo can apply to situations other than some Native American-European relations. Western appropriation has long-lasting effects on the perceptions of Native American cultures by the average consumer and even scientific communities. 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. 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 . endobj Learn how your comment data is processed. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. For more information, please see our This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. His line of questioning effectively asks what if the monstrosity we face is actually not an otherworldly presence but our all too human selves?. 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. endobj The Wendigo happens to be part of my own (Anishiinaabe) cultural heritage. startxref Driving down a dark quiet highway in Southern Manitoba, a man sees someone bent over on the side of the road. Im just struggling to understand the significance of it. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. (Anything that isnt outright vandalism isnt likely to harm the statue at all, but I wouldnt dare do anything disrespectful around it. Kaitlin Smith on November 30, 2021. 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. defence-cultural-appropriation Cultural appropriation is defined by Britannica.com as "When members of a majority group adopt cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical way." Cultural appropriation is a growing topic in this country that when it occurs, or is discussed, often creates controversy. You must be here to either learn more about social justice or answer questions from a social justice viewpoint. 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. In this paper, I document the depictions of windigo in Native American mythology, those of Western literature, and the effects of appropriation and misrepresentation on Native communities. 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. Dollightful's Wendigo Doll - Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation? they've been stripped of cultural context. Privacy Policy. 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. o&g( and our Now that I have a major problem with. And I accept that the Wendigo can symbolize for them that exploitation. i don't think there should be any 'canceling' of Wendigoon or whatever, but definitely something should be said. 0 It has become something else altogether. 0000009056 00000 n The windigo is a Native American spirit belonging to the Algonquian tribes of North America and Canada. %PDF-1.4 % 0000005961 00000 n 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. % 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). Stolen Spirits: The Appropriation of the Windigo Spirit in Horror Beyond Forbes, other Native American thinkers have also used wendigo stories to present critical perspectives on various social problems and call for their resolution. A Creature Without a Cave: Abstraction and (Mis)Appropriation of the 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. With teepees, Im not sure I get it. 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. 0000001365 00000 n Basically, the wendigo was supposed to be a creature you didn't even say the name of or else you could draw the attention of one. Why are wendigos seen as offensive? : r/NoStupidQuestions - Reddit And besides that, it never hurts to include your sources. 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. Cookie Notice Is it cultural appropriation for a white author to use a Native
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wendigo appropriation