When you comment on, Asian American and Pacific Islander History, Race and Membership in American History: Eugenics. This subreddit is about sharing your worlds, discovering the creations of others, and discussing the many aspects of creating new universes. endobj Dollightful's Wendigo Doll - Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation? That is why we know about the wendigo today, it is an oral tradition like all the . In the course of the transformation from human to wendigo, the person exhibits increasing selfishness, violence, hunger, and greed particularly for human flesh. Though these misrepresentations of the wendigo beg for critical interrogation, the wendigo stories of Algonquian peoples offer a window into the endurance of cultural resources used to transmit significant moral values, and underscore the power of Native people using these stories to engage in social critique. Be supportive, this is a place for growth, not hostility. Stolen Spirits: The Appropriation of the Windigo Spirit in Horror Literature. 0000001705 00000 n 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). 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. His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 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. 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. 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. endobj To Helheimr with it! 0000009484 00000 n i love the videos uploaded to youtube and try to keep up with posts, so this is by no means a bash at Wendigoon. media has really misconstrued the original lore and importance of the w*ndigo to Indigenous culture. 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! Western appropriation has long-lasting effects on the perceptions of Native American cultures by the average consumer and even scientific communities. If so, what did you think about it? Kaitlin Smith on November 30, 2021. 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. %PDF-1.7 <> Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge Only those entitled to them should wear them. It was already here. The Witherell House and the Cult of Weird, Movie Review: BIRDS OF PREY (And the Fantabulous Inclusion of Victor Zsasz and a Hyena). Now that I have a major problem with. Archived post. 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). I have always felt a distinct emotional connection to it, in fact. For more information, please see our 0000005554 00000 n and our (Think Noah from . 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. 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. 0000003976 00000 n 0000004071 00000 n 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. 4 0 obj 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. so im sort of clueless how reddit works and made an account for this, so bare with me. 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. How stupid to think otherwise. 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. 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. 0000023412 00000 n Those things, the predation on the Indians by Europeans, most certainly happened. 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. <>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 595.32 841.92] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> T[,%q5 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 . wendigo cultural appropriation [26][27] During the winter of 1878, Swift Runner and his family were starving, and his eldest son died. And were on the right side, thats what were working on but sometimes you get that cannibal tendency. Hunchman, K. N. (2020). 0000012030 00000 n 0000003465 00000 n 0000020040 00000 n Theres something else. For artists, writers, gamemasters, musicians, programmers, philosophers and scientists alike! 0000000974 00000 n This space is not for debate. 9'b_X~~@0CKYO~8yOK9I$^I>t MORTUI VELOCES SUNT! As a concept, wendigo can apply to situations other than some Native American-European relations. I really just want to learn about how to appreciate aspects of cultures that I am not included in respectfully. Check it out here:https://youtu.be/fHE4fkvUpWMI really just made this video to express how I am currently feeling about the wendigo doll situation and the questions I have about it. J.K. Rowling's Cultural Appropriation Should Be A Lesson To White Writers Native Americans shouldn't be a "niche," and neither should women, LGBT people, or people of color. it's just something thats been bothering me so i thought it'd come to reddit to see what other people thought. teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. I read some stuff yesterday saying that teepees are cultural appropriation and there was a long post about how wendigos arent cryptids and how stories about them are cultural appropriation. Learn how your comment data is processed. U%.CI$ 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! These new narratives that white people make fail to acknowledge that the wendigo, and the Indi. +9*]aty``mZm/[= ${2R{!g=b{B,L0R2"T]IDa. startxref 278 0 obj <>stream It has no place in the world of Folklore and monsters. 7 (2020): Ghosts and Cultural Hauntings. 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. Magazine with fellow environmental thought leaders, LaDuke said: Theres this conflict between the cannibals and Mother Earth, and its going on everywhere. The Wendigo happens to be part of my own (Anishiinaabe) cultural heritage. Learn how your comment data is processed. Abstract. My Thoughts and Questions OllieOnyx 845 subscribers Subscribe 4.5K 119K views 2 years ago I just posted a new video talking. 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. 0000015547 00000 n However, it never provents for people of that tribe to share this and that story. 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. 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. 0000006529 00000 n 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. Early folklore described them as tall and impossibly emaciated humanoids with sharp incisors and a heart of ice. hb```b``Ub`e``s`g@ ~+ a1fm{s/K5N9MHd@*2Ey]#B}>x,&ucrnhm:HkN=_B }Wzp.S#WCXi;dRa ,.0H*. These bonnets are symbols of warrior achievements and are the equivalent of military medals. Privacy Policy. And I accept that the Wendigo can symbolize for them that exploitation. Welcome to Facing Today, a Facing History blog. 246 33 0000005304 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. l Ca#!LzH{t+8W5 !2*_{)rgx-`]CTXSH($g Tell us about it in the comments. Have you encountered wendigo stories in films, television shows, or books? Topics: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Im glad, because I dont believe that it is. Copyright 2022 Facing History & Ourselves. Privacy Policy. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Rules: Driving down a dark quiet highway in Southern Manitoba, a man sees someone bent over on the side of the road. And besides that, it never hurts to include your sources. If you were to look around the world about other religions, anything that is associated with death and disease is regarded upon. 0000007047 00000 n Thats just asking for trouble.) 0000003862 00000 n 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. (A friend sent this screenshot to me, along with the info, because he knows how much PC-ism pisses me off. 2. You dont have to be of Afro-Caribbean descent to talk about, write about, or make movies about zombies. Sorry, this post was deleted by the person who originally posted it. Im just struggling to understand the significance of it. s\&|5T!JN04hy'I0 1pv=~0-K$k}xSK"g:O*ox&zGa13(YXzy_{v-N^!c@[H Scan this QR code to download the app now. Beyond Forbes, other Native American thinkers have also used wendigo stories to present critical perspectives on various social problems and call for their resolution. Appropriating the Wendigo As it so happens, I am currently working on a project involving a Wendigo, so this is personal to me. 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 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. 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. 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. That taste of human flesh, which out of that rose the wendigo.. i don't think there should be any 'canceling' of Wendigoon or whatever, but definitely something should be said. 3 0 obj 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. 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. That's just pulling a potential explanation out of my ass, though, I have no idea if its accurate or not. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. 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. 0000010971 00000 n 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. Only assholes think thats offensive. 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. <>/Metadata 266 0 R/ViewerPreferences 267 0 R>> The Windigo also has the power to turn humans into cannibals who suffer the same . the origins don't even depict the w*ndigo with deer antlers, but a human with bitten off lips. He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. they've been stripped of cultural context. 0000000016 00000 n It springs from the well of the collective human unconscious, the communal soul. I believe that the Wendigo is far older than that, far more primal. 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. And you know what? Turning on Marvel Comics pay tribute to classic Monsters. Although well-documented in Western literature, the windigo spirit of stories like . <<410561E535828C4ABA4EA5627C70A225>]/Prev 78716/XRefStm 1365>> 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). 0000002723 00000 n Scan this QR code to download the app now. 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. Participate in good faith. spellings (see Colombo 2) but is most commonly rendered as Windigo, Wendigo, or Witiko. 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. 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. Political correctness started out as one thing, a good thing. Just as the vampire and werewolf do not belong exclusively to people of European descent and the Mummy doesnt belong to Egyptians. 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. trailer Cookie Notice Indigenous, ])yB\}OIZyY8 aA6Vo !C_D#!MYik.1>%'5ryZ*>fb=n#_dr;j5 { It has become something else altogether. 0000011489 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). Vol. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. For more information, please see our Answer (1 of 8): Yes, unless actively researched with proper resources and talked to with First Nation folks as proof-readers. HeyYaIQ 21 days ago. After thinking about it more, I think I get it about the wendigos. Not only is it not offensive, I LOVE seeing references to wendigos in popular culture! Windigo is a malevolent manitou or spirit whose insatiable appetite for human flesh can never be satisfied. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The windigo is a Native American spirit belonging to the Algonquian tribes of North America and Canada. 17spaz 2 yr. ago New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. 0000012532 00000 n x\o7a_h ss+yHL$eW}gfw)$/D !;n*+v}}uSU|.&-y Ill admit, my initial reaction was very dismissive. Film, 0000001365 00000 n 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). 4. Cultural appropriation is the co-optation of elements, customs, or practices of one culture by another culture without acknowledgment or consent. i don't know if anyone has talked about this, but i have a special interest in Native American culture, history, etc. 0 The concept of cultural appropriation began well enough, but just like everything else woke culture political correctness, it's gone way too far. 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. I dont know who originally posted it, or where. So yeah, if anyone could offer any insight/information, thatd be appreciated.