And were on the right side, thats what were working on but sometimes you get that cannibal tendency. s\&|5T!JN04hy'I0 1pv=~0-K$k}xSK"g:O*ox&zGa13(YXzy_{v-N^!c@[H So, thanks, Dave! That is why we know about the wendigo today, it is an oral tradition like all the . Appropriating the Wendigo As it so happens, I am currently working on a project involving a Wendigo, so this is personal to me. This article's cross-media analysis covers television, film and game media; Teen Wolf (2011-17), Supernatural (2005-20), Bruce Wemple's The Retreat (2020) and SuperMassive Games' Until Dawn . xref In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. startxref % U%.CI$ 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! And you know what? 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. 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. Not only is it not offensive, I LOVE seeing references to wendigos in popular culture! 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. It may be used to justify calling. 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. Political correctness started out as one thing, a good thing. Dollightful's Wendigo Doll - Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation? 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. Hunchman, K. N. (2020). Tell us about it in the comments. Have you encountered wendigo stories in films, television shows, or books? 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. 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 so im sort of clueless how reddit works and made an account for this, so bare with me. 0000003465 00000 n By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Im glad, because I dont believe that it is. 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. it's just something thats been bothering me so i thought it'd come to reddit to see what other people thought. Beyond Forbes, other Native American thinkers have also used wendigo stories to present critical perspectives on various social problems and call for their resolution. 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. 9'b_X~~@0CKYO~8yOK9I$^I>t Marvel Comics pay tribute to classic Monsters. <> 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. Abstract. This is a place to learn more bout Social Justice Please report rule violations. endobj symL,JyvCq;[H~! 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). 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. How stupid to think otherwise. She is Native American. Western appropriation has long-lasting effects on the perceptions of Native American cultures by the average consumer and even scientific communities. He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. 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. However, it never provents for people of that tribe to share this and that story. 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. 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). It springs from the well of the collective human unconscious, the communal soul. 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. 0000015547 00000 n These new narratives that white people make fail to acknowledge that the wendigo, and the Indi. Native Americans, Our headquarters are located at: 89 South Street, Suite 401, Boston, MA 02111. My Thoughts and Questions OllieOnyx 845 subscribers Subscribe 4.5K 119K views 2 years ago I just posted a new video talking. Privacy Policy. I have named this observation of the Wendigothe Caveless Creature phenomenon. We do the same thing with a lot of mythological creatures. By Christian Chiakulas, Contributor Writer, musician, activist, single father from Chicago. With teepees, Im not sure I get it. And besides that, it never hurts to include your sources. 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. and our teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. 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. 0000008549 00000 n This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. It has no place in the world of Folklore and monsters. 0000003862 00000 n l Ca#!LzH{t+8W5 !2*_{)rgx-`]CTXSH($g 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. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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. I have this character in a webcomic I want to write who is a Wendigo. Sponsored by Ball State University Libraries. He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. 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. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. hb```b``Ub`e``s`g@ ~+ a1fm{s/K5N9MHd@*2Ey]#B}>x,&ucrnhm:HkN=_B }Wzp.S#WCXi;dRa ,.0H*. 0000007477 00000 n MORTUI VELOCES SUNT! i don't think there should be any 'canceling' of Wendigoon or whatever, but definitely something should be said. 0000010971 00000 n 0000000974 00000 n 1. <> 0 2 0 obj And I accept that the Wendigo can symbolize for them that exploitation. Learn how your comment data is processed. The windigo is a Native American spirit belonging to the Algonquian tribes of North America and Canada. Cultural appropriation consists of borrowing something from another culture in mockery or thoughtless misuse. 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. 246 33 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. 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. they've been stripped of cultural context. 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. 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.
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