By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Dollightful's Wendigo Doll - Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation? My A specimen of folk story collected in the early 20th century by Lottie Chicogquaw Marsden, an ethnographer of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, in which a wendigo also exhibits tool use, an ability to survive partial dismemberment, and autocannibalism, reads:[19]. In addition, for many Indigenous peoples and local communities, making traditional clothes is a source of income; as such, cultural appropriation can . He said, "You bet there is, I have eaten lots of Indians, no wonder they are fat." Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled. In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. I would agree, only I am more likely to not care much even what an Algonquin cares about my monster character. appropriation, or - as I argue - misappropriation, of the Wendigo as a 11 Culturally Appropriative Halloween Costumes You Should - Bustle Nitty gritty. the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciatio View of Culturally Conceptualizing Trauma: The Windigo in Joseph - UNB Cultural appropriation is a huge red flag that the brand has minimal diversity or representation behind the scenes," she explains. 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. Cultural appropriation, defined Culture refers to the traditions, customs, beliefs, and practices of any given ethnic, racial, or religious group. Latvians have their own version of Thor, so I probably should be offended, as well. Some of this critique was rightly directed at literal cultural theft . 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 . More Than Monsters: The Deeper Significance of Wendigo Stories Im glad, because I dont believe that it is. Cultural appropriation takes place when members of a majority group adopt cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical way. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. But I do notice that Eyre stopped short of saying colonialization is the origin for the Wendigo legend. "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. Wendigo psychosis is a fascinating condition with a storied history. DeSanti points to the 1999 horror film Ravenous as an illustration of this argument equating "the cannibal monster" to "American colonialism and manifest destiny". 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. Your culture and entertainment cheat-sheet. For more information, please see our Why Antlers Is Adapting Wendigo Mythology (& How It's Different) 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. 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. Character can be mean, evil or complete asshole but you still should be respectful while writing said character. If it's so vulgar and offensive that many hate it, well they can just not look at it lmao - it clearly wasn't made for them. I do not know, nor can I. This ailment attacked our deputies; and, as death is the sole remedy among those simple people for checking such acts of murder, they were slain in order to stay the course of their madness. (1961). No, I read your comment. 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. without permission. They are seen as malevolent, cannibalistic, supernatural beings of great spiritual power . 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. The Wendigo is by far one of the most mysterious and feared monsters in not only in the Algonquian folklore which it is attributed to, but also other . [26][27] During the winter of 1878, Swift Runner and his family were starving, and his eldest son died. It has no place in the world of Folklore and monsters. 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. Draw/write what you want, I say. You dont have to be of Afro-Caribbean descent to talk about, write about, or make movies about zombies. Further, cultural appropriation often occurs as the backwash of colonization, and contributes to widening existing divisions and perpetuating patterns of historic dispossession and oppression. [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. Appropriating the Wendigo As it so happens, I am currently working on a project involving a Wendigo, so this is personal to me. 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. We do the same thing with a lot of mythological creatures. 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). Jack committed suicide, but Joseph was tried and sentenced to life in prison. "Why is indigenous culture suddenly more sacred than any other culture?". 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. The name comes from the animal's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats. "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. Shock factor aside, it's especially eye-catching in that it isn't necessarily a result of being desperate for food. 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. The Indians asked the Windigo if there was any fat on them. (the proceeding statement may contain some levels of sarcasm.). 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. 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.). Windigo is a malevolent manitou or spirit whose insatiable appetite for human flesh can never be satisfied. They went back again to see if he was dead. For this screenshot controversy, I am actually going to go over a video game for this. 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 So some may be fine if you draw it but don't say its full name. Native Appropriations 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. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. (Not to put too fine a point on it, but you should totally go buy my novella. 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. MORTUI VELOCES SUNT! Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Archived post. PSA: These 11 Halloween "Costumes" Will Always Be Offensive. Until Dawn: On Representation, the Horror Genre, and the Illusion of In Ojibwe, Eastern Cree, Westmain Swampy Cree, Naskapi, and Innu lore, wendigos are often described as giants that are many times larger than human beings, a characteristic absent from myths in other Algonquian cultures. 5. Maybe ask a person of Chinese heritage. Writer, musician, activist, single father from Chicago. Apparently, wendigos are sacred creatures from several indigenous cultures. 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. In 1973 a character inspired by the wendigo appeared in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. 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. It has become something else altogether. Some controversial new studies question the syndrome's legitimacy, claiming cases were actually a product of hostile accusations invented to justify the victim's ostracism or execution."[35]. That's just pulling a potential explanation out of my ass, though, I have no idea if its accurate or not. [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. 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. While Bieber's locs may be perceived . And I accept that the Wendigo can symbolize for them that exploitation. His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 Is it Cultural Appropriation if I have a Wendigo character. I have drawn my own version of golems too, and that is Jewish mythology. Political correctness started out as one thing, a good thing. Discover wendigo cultural appropriation 's popular videos | TikTok Why are wendigos seen as offensive? : r/NoStupidQuestions - reddit 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. For Indigenous peoples in Canada, cultural appropriation is rooted in colonization and ongoing oppression. I do not possess the cultural or social knowledge required. In the 21st century, cultural appropriationlike globalizationisn't just inevitable; it's potentially positive. It's also linked to the many cultural taboos against these negative actions and behaviors. Western capitalistic expansion and cultural appropriation (see . People were not really using Google until the 2000s and that kind of info might have not been available in the 90s. It never occurred to me that what I was doing might be offensive, because I've never even met a Native American person in real life. Wendigo) from its cultural context and its movement by non-Indigenous creators (a large majority being white) into a space of the horror genre that displays negative or antagonistic qualities. In 1661, The Jesuit Relations reported: It was created by Mayuki . And were on the right side, thats what were working on but sometimes you get that cannibal tendency. and our Discover short videos related to wendigo cultural appropriation on TikTok. Theres something else. This term only applies to a . So some of it may be that natives don't want people to be waking this monster. This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. "** 40. The Wendigo is a mythical creature that has been reported in many different forms. Unlike cultural appropriation, strategic anti-essentialism can be practiced by both minority cultures and majority cultures. I am so offended! As a result, in 1907, Fiddler and his brother Joseph were arrested by the Canadian authorities for homicide. Digital Literature Review 1 Stolen Spirits: The Appropriation of the A Creature Without a Cave: Abstraction and (Mis)Appropriation of the does not have antlers or have any wolf features. [16] Whenever a wendigo ate another person, it would grow in proportion to the meal it had just eaten, so it could never be full. In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. Native Americans, Our headquarters are located at: 89 South Street, Suite 401, Boston, MA 02111. White authors should be able to write about non-white people. 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. 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." cultural identity theft, many would argue that cultural appropriation is inevitable in a melting pot like the United States. [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. When I got over my initial bout of self-defensiveness, I realized I was totally wrong. You dont have to be French to love the Phantom of the Opera. In some traditions, humans overpowered by greed could turn into wendigos; the myth thus served as a method of encouraging cooperation and moderation. Europeans may well have behaved like Wendigos when they invaded the Americasthey didbut they didnt bring the Wendigo with them. 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. No cultural appropriation in it, I promise! I am ashamed I watched all the movies. I mean yeah I see what your saying, personally I do research on what its about even if I don't use it in it's entirety. 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. No it isn't cultural appropriation, as long as it is researched and accurately presented in the story. Is it Cultural Appropriation if I have a Wendigo character? They travelled too much. 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. Wendigo - Wikipedia The "Dark Horse" singer . Kaitlin Smith on November 30, 2021. 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. It's just fiction, I thought. It's a term for what happens to people who for one reason or another turn to eating other people. It's like saying vampires are sacred. America is the symbol of inclusion, so as part of the American culture we embrace foreign influences in our society. Handle the characters and the story with respect. Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge [20], Among the Assiniboine, the Cree, and the Ojibwe, a satirical ceremonial dance is sometimes performed during times of famine to reinforce the seriousness of the wendigo taboo. It's taking those cultural. are not cryptids, and don't even traditionally have deer skulls for heads. 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. so no, if you're some white kid hearing crying in the forests of california you're not being "lured into the 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 Ill admit, my initial reaction was very dismissive. 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. Is it okay for a white person to celebrate the culture. Anyone who lives in a place that is exposed to more than . 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. In another unaware move made by a YG artist, mega girl group BLACKPINK, were recently called out for cultural appropriation. Twenty-five miles away from emergency food supplies at a Hudson's Bay Company post, Swift Runner butchered and ate his wife and five remaining children. I'm just glad I learned this lesson from her before actually getting my book published. 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). Create what you want; let the audience decide its fame. A classic example is wearing a Plains Indian war bonnet (see the 80s band The Village People). 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. 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. Cultural appropriation or appreciation? - @theU - University of Utah But I do know the actual description of it. My basic rule is simple: be respectful. Wendigo - Flesheater of the Forests - Legends of America There's also Wendigo psychosis. I think it's okay because you're not trying to rewrite actual history or actual legend. I always thought these are what cannibals are turning into. The legend of the wendigo has long been associated with real-life problems like insatiable greed, selfishness, and violence. 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. [21] The last known wendigo ceremony conducted in the United States was at Lake Windigo of Star Island of Cass Lake, within the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota.[when? But as far as cultural appropriation and the Wendigo goes, dont you daredont you DAREtry to take our monsters away from us, PC wankers! If ANYTHING is disrespectful to woke (does not exist in the real world) culture then I say: DO IT - AND DO IT BIG!!! Don't tell lies to those Indians." [45] Wrist, the 2016 debut novel by First Nations horror fiction writer Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler (Lac Des Milles Lacs Anishinaabe),[46] combines the traditional Ojibwe legend with the author's ideas inspired by non-Indigenous writers like Anne Rice and Tim Powers. Wendigo | Unpublished Villains Wiki | Fandom Cookie Notice Dont look at it! An uncontrollable craving for consuming human flesh, even if a plenty of other food is available. [12] Although descriptions can vary somewhat, common to all these cultures is the view that the wendigo is a malevolent, cannibalistic, supernatural being. City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works It can serve as a metaphor explaining any pattern of domination by which groups subjugate and dominate or violently destroy and displace. He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. 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. It is unknown if it would have been an entire species or a singular creature. It's a really cool beast that I personally would like to see more in fiction. 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? Posted by Still though, Im not sure I fully get the Native American spirits(?) The boy told the Indians that the Windigo was near them, and showed them his hand where the Windigo cut him to see if he was fat enough to eat. Mistgod Edited Oct 11, 2020 Hobbyist Traditional Artist Apparently, wendigos are sacred creatures from several indigenous cultures. [51], Television series employing the figure include Teen Wolf, Supernatural,[52] Blood Ties,[53] Charmed,[54] Grimm,[55] and Hannibal, where an FBI profiler has recurring dreams or visions of a wendigo that symbolizes the titular cannibalistic serial killer. Film, In some cases, this entailed killing people with Wendigo psychosis. Screenshot Controversy- Until Dawn - DeviantArt 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. ". Learn how your comment data is processed. "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. Romantic scholar and documentarian Emily Zarka, also a professor at Arizona State University, observes that two commonalities among the indigenous cultures of Algonquian language family speakers are that they are situated in climes where harsh winters are frequent and may be accompanied by starvation. 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. Created by the writer Steve Englehart and artist Herb Trimpe, the monster is the result of a curse that afflicts those who commit acts of cannibalism. and our 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. I think people just need to chill out, no mater what their religion and culture is. Dont like someones fetish? 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. The Wendigo may be a figure from American Indian mythology, but it belongs to all of humankind. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. wendigo appropriation plymouth township mi police scanner It first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #162 (April 1973), and again in the October 1974 issue. Wendigo | Myths and Folklore Wiki | Fandom 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. By Derrick Clifton. PDF Baring the Windigo's Teeth: The Fearsome Figure in Native American I believe cultural appropriation is Only when someone of another 'race' or culture creates something and passes it off as if it is authentic. Funny how it's only creatures from certain culture's folklore people get pissy over and not others. Thats just asking for trouble.) 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. It also includes the unauthorized use of parts of their culture (their dress, dance, etc.) Copyright 2022 Facing History & Ourselves. And whoever!). Other sources say wendigos were created when a human resorted to cannibalism to survive. This was the end of this Giant Windigo. 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. [17] Therefore, wendigos are portrayed as simultaneously gluttonous and extremely thin due to starvation.
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