wendigo appropriation

• 8 September 2023

I'm just struggling to understand the significance of it. 246 33 In the course of the transformation from human to wendigo, the person exhibits increasing selfishness, violence, hunger, and greedparticularly for human flesh. <<410561E535828C4ABA4EA5627C70A225>]/Prev 78716/XRefStm 1365>> In the course of the transformation from human to wendigo, the person exhibits increasing selfishness, violence, hunger, and greed particularly for human flesh. 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. Usually, the appropriating culture is in a relation of domination to the appropriated culture. Big Dan on Twitter 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. I have named this observation of the Wendigothe Caveless Creature phenomenon. For artists, writers, gamemasters, musicians, programmers, philosophers and scientists alike! 0000004651 00000 n The Wendigo may be a figure from American Indian mythology, but it belongs to all of humankind. Finally, it's just not that hard to do two minutes of. Posted by Dollightful's Wendigo Doll - Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation? 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. P\^$'$@YWSB;Td54BD?YH"'kh::a;Vqz&4|:>)xP2n |94NrOqE'6 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. appropriation that has troubled the exchange between Indigenous . 0000008020 00000 n He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. During a panel at YES! Western appropriation has long-lasting effects on the perceptions of Native American cultures by the average consumer and even scientific communities. endobj But I do notice that Eyre stopped short of saying colonialization is the origin for the Wendigo legend. the origins don't even depict the w*ndigo with deer antlers, but a human with bitten off lips. 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 . And I accept that the Wendigo can symbolize for them that exploitation. 0000005961 00000 n MORTUI VELOCES SUNT! 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. and our Early folklore described them as tall and impossibly emaciated humanoids with sharp incisors and a heart of ice. A classic example is wearing a Plains Indian war bonnet (see the 80s band The Village People). 2. Cookie Notice %PDF-1.4 % 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. o&g( After thinking about it more, I think I get it about the wendigos. 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. 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. It has become something else altogether. Participate in good faith. 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. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 0000000016 00000 n 0000005304 00000 n 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. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 1 0 obj 0000006529 00000 n 0000002723 00000 n Scan this QR code to download the app now. Theres something else. Vol. Learn how your comment data is processed. Stolen Spirits: The Appropriation of the Windigo Spirit in Horror A Creature Without a Cave: Abstraction and (Mis)Appropriation of the 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. We do the same thing with a lot of mythological creatures. a lot of Natives and people in general don't even like saying the word itself. That taste of human flesh, which out of that rose the wendigo.. Film, The Windigo also has the power to turn humans into cannibals who suffer the same . 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. 0000011489 00000 n stream Abstract. His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 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. To Helheimr with it! Antlers: The Wendigo Monster's History, Explained - CBR ])yB\}OIZyY8 aA6Vo !C_D#!MYik.1>%'5ryZ*>fb=n#_dr;j5 { Only those entitled to them should wear them. s\&|5T!JN04hy'I0 1pv=~0-K$k}xSK"g:O*ox&zGa13(YXzy_{v-N^!c@[H Beyond Forbes, other Native American thinkers have also used wendigo stories to present critical perspectives on various social problems and call for their resolution. Until Dawn: On Representation, the Horror Genre, and the Illusion of 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. It has no place in the world of Folklore and monsters. Im glad, because I dont believe that it is. "@TheThiccholas @realcoolJAY They can't say Issa wendigo cus of cultural appropriation props to them buuuuuut also WENDIGO type energy sooo " 0000007477 00000 n 246 0 obj <> endobj %%EOF There's nothing wrong with drawing the popular concept of a wendigo monster, or drawing any monster with antlers, and calling it a wendigo. 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. Appropriating the Wendigo As it so happens, I am currently working on a project involving a Wendigo, so this is personal to me. T[,%q5 :)Looking to buy some stickers or look at some pictures of my art or my other things? 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? teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. 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 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. Stolen Spirits: The Appropriation of the Windigo Spirit in Horror Literature. (Think Noah from . Is it cultural appropriation for a white author to use a Native She is Native American. 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. The Witherell House and the Cult of Weird, Movie Review: BIRDS OF PREY (And the Fantabulous Inclusion of Victor Zsasz and a Hyena). 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. With teepees, Im not sure I get it. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. however, the w*ndigo originates from spiritual beliefs held by Indigenous peoples. Only assholes think thats offensive. Why are wendigos seen as offensive? : r/NoStupidQuestions - Reddit Rules: I have always felt a distinct emotional connection to it, in fact. 0000009596 00000 n Hunchman, K. N. (2020). It springs from the well of the collective human unconscious, the communal soul. so im sort of clueless how reddit works and made an account for this, so bare with me. w*ndigo stuff : r/wendigoon - Reddit 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. 0 PDF Windigo manitou - Portland State University So, thanks, Dave! Wendigos, teepees and cultural appropriation : r/socialjustice101 - Reddit You dont have to be of Afro-Caribbean descent to talk about, write about, or make movies about zombies. And whoever!). 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. His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 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. Privacy Policy. they've been stripped of cultural context. 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. When you comment on, Asian American and Pacific Islander History, Race and Membership in American History: Eugenics. 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. 0000012791 00000 n 0000010971 00000 n J.K. Rowling's Cultural Appropriation Should Be A Lesson To - HuffPost My Thoughts and Questions OllieOnyx 845 subscribers Subscribe 4.5K 119K views 2 years ago I just posted a new video talking. +9*]aty``mZm/[= ${2R{!g=b{B,L0R2"T]IDa. For more information, please see our And you know what? Now that I have a major problem with. Apparently it's wrong to draw wendigos for Halloween Privacy Policy. HeyYaIQ 21 days ago. My basic rule is simple: be respectful. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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