wendigo cultural appropriation

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. 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. Funny how it's only creatures from certain culture's folklore people get pissy over and not others. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. This form of cultural appropriation is deeply intertwined with systemic and institutionalized racism rooted in capitalism. It's taking those cultural. This year's Met Gala theme China: Through the Looking Glass was just begging for cultural appropriation, which led many starlets to play it safe with minimal references to China.Emma Roberts, however, earned herself Twitter backlash for wearing chopsticks in her hair.. Chopsticks in the hair is one of many broadly "Asian" styles tried on by Western dressers (for what it's worth . In some traditions, humans overpowered by greed could turn into wendigos; the myth thus served as a method of encouraging cooperation and moderation. Aye, I love wendigos. And whoever!). The Cambridge Dictionary, defines it as "the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture."And a lot of times, it is marked by a dominant culture taking from one that has been colonized and oppressed . I have to look! The cultural appropriation police answer the yoga and banh mi objections with a familiar counter-argument: it's about power. Film, Lots of stories have aped Native American folklore before her, including some of mine. 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. So some may be fine if you draw it but don't say its full name. It's also linked to the many cultural taboos against these negative actions and behaviors. The Windigo also has the power to turn humans into cannibals who suffer the same . 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. For Indigenous peoples in Canada, cultural appropriation is rooted in colonization and ongoing oppression. [43] These works set the template for later portrayals in popular culture, at times even replacing the Native American lore. As described by the Native American Cree legends, they were humans who have been mutated into cannibalistic monsters after being possessed by the Wendigo spirit, causing them to eat the flesh of other humans. to tell a new tale. 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. (1961). [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. In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. [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. How dare they? It was already here. But its none of your concern what turns someone on! To Helheimr with it! This was the end of this Giant Windigo. [42] In an early short story by Thomas Pynchon, "Mortality and Mercy in Vienna" (first published in 1959), the plot centers around a character developing Wendigo syndrome and going on a killing spree. 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. Appropriating the Wendigo As it so happens, I am currently working on a project involving a Wendigo, so this is personal to me. Indigenous, I dont know who originally posted it, or where. In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. Shock factor aside, it's especially eye-catching in that it isn't necessarily a result of being desperate for food. Part of HuffPost Entertainment. It's a term for what happens to people who for one reason or another turn to eating other people. According to Professor Chris Schedler, the figure of the wendigo represents "consuming forms of exclusion and assimilation" through which groups dominate other groups. I wouldn't be offended if someone dressed up as a stereotypical native american even though my great grandma was half blackfoot native american. https://www.deviantart.com/forum/community/complaints/2611618/. appropriation, or - as I argue - misappropriation, of the Wendigo as a Im glad, because I dont believe that it is. Key elements of culture include: language art,. Cultural appropriation is the use of a people's traditional dress, music, cuisine, knowledge and other aspects of their culture, without their approval, by members of a different culture. But as far as cultural appropriation and the Wendigo goes, dont you daredont you DAREtry to take our monsters away from us, PC wankers! Discover short videos related to wendigo cultural appropriation on TikTok. Wendigo is a part of MCU, too. 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. Europeans may well have behaved like Wendigos when they invaded the Americasthey didbut they didnt bring the Wendigo with them. 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? 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. wa, which may have meant "owl". Thank god I am not from USA, where this seems to be an issue. Pet Sematary is an important cultural artifact thanks to King's widespread popularity and recognition as a horror writer. Monsters like Wendigos often represent, in the imprecise language of emotion, a common cultural fear. For this screenshot controversy, I am actually going to go over a video game for this. I'm not skilled enough to draw these (")> lolz. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. 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. wendigos originate from spiritual beliefs held by Algonquian Indigenous peoples, whom are from the north eastern part of north america. ][22][failed verification], In historical accounts of retroactively diagnosed Wendigo psychosis, it has been reported that humans became possessed by the wendigo spirit, after being in a situation of needing food and having no other choice besides cannibalism. The wendigo is a terrifying presence that feeds on negative energy and human flesh, making it a natural addition to the horror genre. It shouldn't be bad thing if you don't mock culture, make sure to have all information you can ( read books from culture or ask someone who grew up with said culture if they are willing to teach you) but then again they aren't from your culture and unlike creatures like vampires they are a bit more closed i don't know is it good to use them. 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. Without really understanding the conflict here, it seems like the issue is not people illustrating the creature, but using it as a creepy Halloween themed prop. Mythical being in Native American folklore, "Windigo" redirects here. [26][27] During the winter of 1878, Swift Runner and his family were starving, and his eldest son died. does not have antlers or have any wolf features. In the course of the transformation from human to wendigo, the person exhibits increasing selfishness, violence, hunger, and greedparticularly for human flesh. And were on the right side, thats what were working on but sometimes you get that cannibal tendency. It also includes the unauthorized use of parts of their culture (their dress, dance, etc.) 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. Myeesquatis was holding the other leg and we were praying. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. In addition to characterizing individual people who exhibit destructive tendencies, the wendigo can also describe movements and events with similarly negative effects. He was eating the juice (marrow) from the inside of the bones of his legs that were cut off. Other sources say wendigos were created when a human resorted to cannibalism to survive. "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. 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. [11], This was the end of the wendigo is part of the traditional belief system of a number of Algonquin-speaking peoples, including the Ojibwe, the Saulteaux, the Cree, the Naskapi, and the Innu. The legend of the Wendigo is, in fact, one of the oldest manifestations of a taboo peculiar to most human societies, and which was already widespread among Anglophone tribes: cannibalism. I just posted a new video talking about cultural appropriation and art! And some natives don't care at all. Why is indigenous culture suddenly more sacred than any other culture? Dressing up as a cultural stereotype is never, ever OK. Cady Heron once remarked that, "in the real world, Halloween is when kids . Whether you understand it fully or not, cultural appropriation is a real thing and a real problem. The name comes from the animal's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats. I do not possess the cultural or social knowledge required. When you comment on, Asian American and Pacific Islander History, Race and Membership in American History: Eugenics. Wendigo Cannibalism in Native American Folklore. 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. For more information, please see our I hate that I am defending JKR but I think a lot of people don't really think about how the internet was in in the late 90s and what kind of content was on the internet. The e-book is here, and you can get a paperback copy here.). 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. The legend of the wendigo has long been associated with real-life problems like insatiable greed, selfishness, and violence. The concept of cultural appropriation began well enough, but just like everything else woke culture political correctness, it's gone way too far. 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. 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. We have to stop guarding cultures and subcultures in efforts to preserve them.. 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. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Even before it went live, she was being criticized for her apparently blatant cultural appropriation of Native American folklore, and since publishing the criticism has only grown more pointed. It first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #162 (April 1973), and again in the October 1974 issue. 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. [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. 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. 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). Humans could also turn into wendigos by being in contact with them for too long. Watch popular content from the following creators: Thorn (@shr00mermaid), Thorn (@shr00mermaid), Nuoance(@nuoance), MattHatterPlays(@matthatterplays), Aidan Mattis(@theaidanmattis) . I am ashamed I watched all the movies. Representation in media is crucially important, something I have become very aware of as I've grown older and consumed more entertainment. 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. So some of it may be that natives don't want people to be waking this monster. What makes the wendigo any different from other culturally important mythological creatures like unicorns? .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.