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. so no, if you're some white kid hearing crying in the forests of california you're not being "lured into the 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. Watch popular content from the following creators: Thorn (@shr00mermaid), Thorn (@shr00mermaid), Nuoance(@nuoance), MattHatterPlays(@matthatterplays), Aidan Mattis(@theaidanmattis) . If an idea has merit, it doesn't need protecting. In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. It turned its hunger on the Americas, a wendigo so hungry that it consumes its own lips if there is nothing else for it to eat. Windigo psychosis may well be the most perfect example of the construction of an Aboriginal mental disorder by the scholarly professions, and its persistence dramatically underscores how constructions of the Aboriginal by these professions have, like Frankenstein's monster, taken on a life of their own. Aye, I love wendigos. Jack committed suicide, but Joseph was tried and sentenced to life in prison. Learn how your comment data is processed. They went back again to see if he was dead. This inspired an entire thread -->, Sucks to be these artists I guess. With its bones pushing out against its skin, its complexion the ash-gray of death, and its eyes pushed back deep into their sockets, the Wendigo looked like a gaunt skeleton recently disinterred from the grave. 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. According to Professor Chris Schedler, the figure of the wendigo represents "consuming forms of exclusion and assimilation" through which groups dominate other groups. 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. That's an easy solution and I still keep my freedom to create. 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. Learn how your comment data is processed. [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. His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 [30], Fascination with Wendigo psychosis among Western ethnographers, psychologists, and anthropologists led to a hotly debated controversy in the 1980s over the historicity of this phenomenon. Wendigo Cannibalism in Native American Folklore. (Anything that isnt outright vandalism isnt likely to harm the statue at all, but I wouldnt dare do anything disrespectful around it. 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. Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. In another unaware move made by a YG artist, mega girl group BLACKPINK, were recently called out for cultural appropriation. Until Dawn logo. without permission.1 Im just struggling to understand the significance of it. The wendigo -- a creature from Native American myth -- carries powerful symbolism and is presumably sufficiently mysterious to keep enough audience members guessing at its motives and abilities. In their most recent music video for 'How You Like That', fans spotted a Ganesha idol kept on the ground, in the background of the music video. Seems to me a great deal of what people write about in fantasy stories is borrowing from other cultures & nations & communities. I'm all for respecting other people's cultures, but straight up trying to tell people they can't respectfully depict a fictional creature because it's ,,stealing" or ,,evoking the creature" or something is just way too overboard. 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. During a panel at YES! It's a really cool beast that I personally would like to see more in fiction. 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. [13] They were strongly associated with winter, the north, coldness, famine, and starvation.[14]. 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. 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. 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. We do the same thing with a lot of mythological creatures. To Helheimr with it! 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. (A friend sent this screenshot to me, along with the info, because he knows how much PC-ism pisses me off. Still though, Im not sure I fully get the Native American spirits(?) 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. does not have antlers or have any wolf features. When I got over my initial bout of self-defensiveness, I realized I was totally wrong. (the proceeding statement may contain some levels of sarcasm.). Political correctness started out as one thing, a good thing. There's nothing wrong with drawing the popular concept of a wendigo monster, or drawing any monster with antlers, and calling it a wendigo. I do not know whether Algonquin People indeed consider Wendigo depictions in mainstream media so culturally sensitive or taboo as the "woke" in your lead comment implied I would somehow doubt it but do not know for sure. That borrowing and exchanging of cultural elements is what makes America the melting pot of the world. In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. It also seems to me to be unacceptable for authors to be unable to use one (or more) of those characters/symbols/etc. In an as-yet unpublished urban fantasy novel of mine, I basically did the same thing; I made a supporting character an Acheri, completely bungling any semblance of folkloric accuracy in my attempt to come up with a "cool" and "unorthodox" monster. It will survive on it's own. to tell a new tale. "** 40. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. 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. First, he gives definitions of the key concepts of "appropriation" and "arts," and delimits his investigation as one concerned with "cultural" appropriation. Posted by Wendigos/Windigos/etc. You dont have to be French to love the Phantom of the Opera. If I don't, I'll never know what it is I'm so angry about! Mistgod Edited Oct 11, 2020 Hobbyist Traditional Artist Apparently, wendigos are sacred creatures from several indigenous cultures. Cultural appropriation can be defined as the "cherry picking" or selecting of certain aspects of a culture, and ignoring their original significance for the purpose of belittling it as a trend. The reason I chose this game is due to how this game has story in it, and I think it would fit this meme well for an analysis and review. People were not really using Google until the 2000s and that kind of info might have not been available in the 90s. His line of questioning effectively asks what if the monstrosity we face is actually not an otherworldly presence but our all too human selves?. Monsters like Wendigos often represent, in the imprecise language of emotion, a common cultural fear. [28] He eventually confessed and was executed by authorities at Fort Saskatchewan. Strictly speaking, cultural appropriation is the adoption of some element of another culture -- food, language, practices, fashion, etc. One time long ago a big Windigo stole an Indian boy, but the boy was too thin, so the Windigo didn't eat him up right away, but he travelled with the Indian boy waiting for him till he'd get fat. It's also linked to the many cultural taboos against these negative actions and behaviors. The protection of minorities from the materialization of the majority's different thoughts is an asset of democratic constitutionalism. 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. Cho isn't even only problematic character, Lavander changed her race (in movies, i'm not sure about books but still, Rowling could of said something). Magazine with fellow environmental thought leaders, LaDuke said: Theres this conflict between the cannibals and Mother Earth, and its going on everywhere. However, when reading Magic in North America, it's hard not to get the sense that Rowling did not understand the thin ice she was treading on when it came to representation of Native Americans, nor did she make any effort to treat these themes with the weight they deserve. And you know what? Cultural appropriation is a bullshit term made up by people who feel some bizarre psychological need to make up reasons to punish themselves. That taste of human flesh, which out of that rose the wendigo.. Draw/write what you want, I say. I believe that the Wendigo is far older than that, far more primal. Cultural appropriation definition, the adoption, usually without acknowledgment, of cultural identity markers from subcultures or minority communities into mainstream culture by people with a relatively privileged status. 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. So yeah, if anyone could offer any insight/information, thatd be appreciated. With teepees, Im not sure I get it. Apparently, wendigos are sacred creatures from several indigenous cultures. While Bieber's locs may be perceived . I would advise anyone, however, who feels that way about my choice to create art or literature based on a wendigo, to simply avoid my gallery and writing. 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. The use of the creature in horror stories . A classic example is wearing a Plains Indian war bonnet (see the 80s band The Village People). I won't pretend I know everything about NA culture, but I believe that headresses and that kind of finery is only used on special occasions and was not how ordinary NAs dressed all the time. And how many would have known that in the past - and even now - the originators of the cornrows, the headdresses, the bindis, would have been persecuted for wearing them? Mexicans: Cultural Appropriation PragerU 3.01M subscribers Subscribe 85K Share 2.2M views 4 years ago What is cultural appropriation? [10], The Wechuge is a similar being that appears in the legends of the Athabaskan people of the Northwest Pacific Coast. [24], Although in many recorded cases of Wendigo psychosis the individual has been killed to prevent cannibalism from resulting, some Cree folklore recommends treatment by ingestion of fatty animal meats or drinking animal grease; those treated may sometimes vomit ice as part of the curing process. In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. . 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. He said to the boy "Hurry up. Writer, musician, activist, single father from Chicago. https://www.deviantart.com/forum/community/complaints/2611618/. 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 game I will be going over in this is Until Dawn, a horror game made by Supermassive Games, made . 12. Thank god I am not from USA, where this seems to be an issue. "To the people present, it was suspected that Moostoos was becoming a 'Whitego', an insane person capable of murdering and cannibalism.41 To the natives without jails or asylums, there was only one thing to do. Cultural appropriation by a dominant culture is harmful to underrepresented cultures because it reduces cultural significance and reinforces double standards. 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. I am ashamed I watched all the movies. Not only is it not offensive, I LOVE seeing references to wendigos in popular culture! Copyright 2022 Facing History & Ourselves. A nice summary is found here: The concept of cultural appropriation emerged in academia in the late 1970s and 1980s as part of the scholarly critique of colonialism. Western capitalistic expansion and cultural appropriation (see . 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. In addition to denoting a cannibalistic monster from certain traditional folklore, some Native Americans also understand the wendigo conceptually. We enjoy liberties today that aren't even a freckle on the face of human history, and yet some individuals would go so far as to throw them all away because something offends them. 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? But I do know the actual description of it. I think people just need to chill out, no mater what their religion and culture is. New replies are no longer allowed. Blackwood's work has influenced many of the subsequent portrayals in mainstream horror fiction,[42][43] such as August Derleth's "The Thing that Walked on the Wind" and "Ithaqua" (1933 and 1941),[41] which in turn inspired the character in Stephen King's novel Pet Sematary,[42] where it is a personification of evil, an ugly grinning creature with yellow-grey eyes, ears replaced by ram's horns, white vapor coming from its nostrils, and a pointed, decaying yellow tongue. I'm just glad I learned this lesson from her before actually getting my book published. But I do notice that Eyre stopped short of saying colonialization is the origin for the Wendigo legend. Now that I have a major problem with. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Lipsitz, writing in the the 1990s, argued that cultural appreciation becomes cultural appropriation "when an element of culture is adopted from a marginalized group without respect for its . In the 21st century, cultural appropriationlike globalizationisn't just inevitable; it's potentially positive. Explore the latest videos from hashtags: #culturalappropriation, #cultureappropriation, #culturalappropiation, # . 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. For more information, please see our 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. Most sensible thing said ever. As a concept, wendigo can apply to situations other than some Native American-European relations. [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. PSA: These 11 Halloween "Costumes" Will Always Be Offensive. And that's exactly the problem. It springs from the well of the collective human unconscious, the communal soul. Maybe ask a person of Chinese heritage. 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. I mean, I have native heritage, grew up with the culture and I even have a wendigo character in my own comic that's based on the pop-culture version with the elk skull and whatnot so I honestly don't see an issue with it but if you're really concerned then perhaps try a different monster called the Leshy from Slavic folklore? Some of this critique was rightly directed at literal cultural theft . 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. And FWIW, I've read stories that disturbed me & even disgusted me but the author has the right to tell their story whether I like it or don't. 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 country is seeking to be whole Stretching out its arms and consuming all it can. I wouldn't be offended if someone dressed up as a stereotypical native american even though my great grandma was half blackfoot native american. It really depends who you talk to. minority cultures deserve a higher level of protection from being put on display than mainstream cultures," Nah, https://forum.deviantart.com/community/complaints/2612415/, https://www.deviantart.com/comments/18/2611618/4878314665, (, literally "goat-sucker") is a legendary cryptid rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas, with the first sightings reported in Puerto Rico. Part of HuffPost Entertainment. 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 The legend of the wendigo has long been associated with real-life problems like insatiable greed, selfishness, and violence. America is the symbol of inclusion, so as part of the American culture we embrace foreign influences in our society. Hah hah! Now why cant that be said to prudes lurking here. It also includes the unauthorized use of parts of their culture (their dress, dance, etc.) If so, what did you think about it? 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. 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. [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. It was already here. Shock factor aside, it's especially eye-catching in that it isn't necessarily a result of being desperate for food. 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. In addition, for many Indigenous peoples and local communities, making traditional clothes is a source of income; as such, cultural appropriation can . Joe Lockhard, English professor at Arizona State University, argues that wendigos are agents of "social cannibalism" who know "no provincial or national borders; all human cultures have been visited by shape-shifting wendigos. There's too much variety of opinion on the question to obtain a consensus. The heroes of books I read, movies I watched, and games I played almost exclusively looked like me when I was growing up, people I could easily identify with. 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. The Wendigo (Also known as windigo, weendigo, windago, waindigo, windiga, witiko, wihtikow, and various other names including manaha) originates from Native-American legend, and is said to be a demonic half-beast as told by the Algonquian peoples along the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada. Differing thinking is one of the cherished assets of democratic cultural pluralism. [49][50] In the 2021 film The Inhuman (L'Inhumain) the arrival of a wendigo symbolizes inner turmoil after a character turns his back on his Indigenous heritage in the pursuit of material success. Windigo is a malevolent manitou or spirit whose insatiable appetite for human flesh can never be satisfied. Exactly!! 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.). .mw-parser-output .verse_translation .translated{padding-left:2em}@media only screen and (max-width:43.75em){.mw-parser-output .verse_translation.wrap_when_small td{display:block;padding-left:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .verse_translation.wrap_when_small .translated{padding-left:0.5em}}, Ce qui nous mit plus en peine, fut la nouvelle que nous apprismes ds l'entre du Lac, sauoir: que les deputez par nostre Conducteur, qui deuoient conuoquer les Nations la Mer du Nord, et leur donner le rendez-vous pour nous y attendre, auoient est tuez l'Hiuer pass, d'une faon estonnante. No one can try to stake a singular claim to it. I have not always done so, and it appears that in this case, J.K. Rowling did not either. Wendigo) from its cultural conte xt and its movement by non-Indigenous . 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. Ten years later, "cultural appropriation" is no longer an obscure academic term . #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. spellings (see Colombo 2) but is most commonly rendered as Windigo, Wendigo, or Witiko.