10 Examples of Cultural Appropriation You Never Thought About DeSanti points to the 1999 horror film Ravenous as an illustration of this argument equating "the cannibal monster" to "American colonialism and manifest destiny". Wendigo - Flesheater of the Forests - Legends of America Not only is it not offensive, I LOVE seeing references to wendigos in popular culture! Copyright 2022 Facing History & Ourselves. 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. Only assholes think thats offensive. The horror film Antlers adopts an old monster for its story, which serves as both a benefit and a hindrance. Now time to go back and make some changes. [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. Cultural appropriation or appreciation? - @theU - University of Utah 1. I wouldn't be offended if someone dressed up as a stereotypical native american even though my great grandma was half blackfoot native american. Handle the characters and the story with respect. 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. Cultural appropriation is perhaps the stupidest example of the stupidest concept , political correctness , that has ever been argued. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. All of these Indians went to where the Windigo was and cut off his legs. 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? Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. That's an easy solution and I still keep my freedom to create. No they fucking aren't. spellings (see Colombo 2) but is most commonly rendered as Windigo, Wendigo, or Witiko. Appreciation is honoring and respecting another culture and its practices, as a way to gain knowledge and understanding. Maybe I'm just not a math person. 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. I don't don't value cultural pluralism. The appropriation, and reclamation, of Native American mythology', Journal of . 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. Native Americans, Our headquarters are located at: 89 South Street, Suite 401, Boston, MA 02111. Cultural appropriation takes place when members of a majority group adopt cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical way. 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. In addition, for many Indigenous peoples and local communities, making traditional clothes is a source of income; as such, cultural appropriation can . The Wendigo happens to be part of my own (Anishiinaabe) cultural heritage. To fully understand its consequences, though, we need to make sure we have a working definition of culture itself. 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. 17spaz 2 yr. ago (A friend sent this screenshot to me, along with the info, because he knows how much PC-ism pisses me off. This inspired an entire thread -->, Sucks to be these artists I guess. [40][41] Joe Nazare wrote that Blackwood's "subtly-demonizing rhetoric transforms the Wendigo from a native myth into a descriptive template for the Indian savage."[42]. I will draw whatever I feel like drawing. 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. His line of questioning effectively asks what if the monstrosity we face is actually not an otherworldly presence but our all too human selves?. Pet Sematary is an important cultural artifact thanks to King's widespread popularity and recognition as a horror writer. 11. wendigo appropriation plymouth township mi police scanner In addition to denoting a cannibalistic monster from certain traditional folklore, some Native Americans also understand the wendigo conceptually. 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. The Witherell House and the Cult of Weird, Movie Review: BIRDS OF PREY (And the Fantabulous Inclusion of Victor Zsasz and a Hyena). New replies are no longer allowed. wendigos originate from spiritual beliefs held by Algonquian Indigenous peoples, whom are from the north eastern part of north america. The Windigo also has the power to turn humans into cannibals who suffer the same . 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 . It also includes the unauthorized use of parts of their culture (their dress, dance, etc.) Wendigo - What Is It and Where Does It Come From? - The Infographics Show It was already here. I dont know who originally posted it, or where. 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? Historically, deciding exactly what culture is hasn't been easy. But I do notice that Eyre stopped short of saying colonialization is the origin for the Wendigo legend. And that's exactly the problem. Racism 101: At What Point Does Cultural Appreciation Cross Over - LAist [58] Several of these creatures also appear in the game's cover art.[59]. Not so for anyone who isn't a straight, white male, and this trend in entertainment forces many people to seek out "niche" markets to find characters who look like them and are portrayed honestly and realistically. Dressing up as a cultural stereotype is never, ever OK. Cady Heron once remarked that, "in the real world, Halloween is when kids . 15 Instances Where Indigenous Style Has Been Appropriated - HipLatina It can serve as a metaphor explaining any pattern of domination by which groups subjugate and dominate or violently destroy and displace. [28] He eventually confessed and was executed by authorities at Fort Saskatchewan. Until Dawn logo. 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. So, now I realize, what the hell was I doing, thinking I could write about Native American folklore with anything approaching honesty? PSA: These 11 Halloween "Costumes" Will Always Be Offensive. He was eating the juice (marrow) from the inside of the bones of his legs that were cut off. This form of cultural appropriation is deeply intertwined with systemic and institutionalized racism rooted in capitalism. If Hello Kitty and the Minions from Dispicable Me being considered acceptable Halloween costumes wasn't the exact point I stopped taking Halloween seriously as a holiday, Wendigos being considered a form of disrespectful "cultural appropriation" was. These things feel formulaic, quantitative, mathematicbalancing equations and subtraction. Why is indigenous culture suddenly more sacred than any other culture? By the mid-1990s, it had gained a solid place in academic discourse, particularly in the field of sociology. "Today, many believe the crows to be . He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. Why Antlers Is Adapting Wendigo Mythology (& How It's Different) PDF Baring the Windigo's Teeth: The Fearsome Figure in Native American What makes the wendigo any different from other culturally important mythological creatures like unicorns? We do the same thing with a lot of mythological creatures. 11 Culturally Appropriative Halloween Costumes You Should - Bustle 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. The legend of the Wendigo stems from Native American folklore, primarily in Algonquian-speaking tribes located in south and southeastern Canada, the Great Lakes Region, and northeastern United States. Draw/write what you want, I say. 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 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. 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. In some cases, this entailed killing people with Wendigo psychosis. Wendigo: Cannibalism In Native American Folklore Research - Phdessay I just posted a new video talking about cultural appropriation and art! Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. And they are worth considering including in ones classroom teaching. 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. 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. When I got over my initial bout of self-defensiveness, I realized I was totally wrong. Archived post. People can appreciate and draw as many wendigo and other scary monsters as they like, it's all entirely fictional and doesn't hurt anyone. iii 3 four quarters: Jack D. Forbes' concept of colonialism as a manifestation of wtiko psychosis; ethnographical works that feature fearsome figures from the stories of North American tribal These bonnets are symbols of warrior achievements and are the equivalent of military medals. 5 Times K-Pop Made Cultural Appropriation a Trend The legend of the wendigo has long been associated with real-life problems like insatiable greed, selfishness, and violence. 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." 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. 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. 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. 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. Cultural appropriation, feel like a real blur to me but I never worry about it I feel it can dampen the creative process. In some artistic depictions, it looks similar to the pop-culture wendigo and even makes an appearance in The Witcher games but instead it's called a Leshen. 9 Neil Jamieson-Williams Science Fiction Writer (part-time/now full-time) at Self-Employment (1977-present) Author has 1.7K answers and 1.1M answer views Updated 6 mo Ah, another Mike Wilson question Mexicans: Cultural Appropriation PragerU 3.01M subscribers Subscribe 85K Share 2.2M views 4 years ago What is cultural appropriation? without permission. Your culture and entertainment cheat-sheet. I'm not skilled enough to draw these (")> lolz. Seems to me a great deal of what people write about in fantasy stories is borrowing from other cultures & nations & communities. But, but, what if they're looking at something that erodes the moral fabric of civilization? Just as the vampire and werewolf do not belong exclusively to people of European descent and the Mummy doesnt belong to Egyptians. Doing so is an honorable endeavorbut only if we actually do our homework first. 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. 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. No they ain't. Film, In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. It also includes the unauthorized use of parts of their culture (their dress, dance, etc.) I have drawn my own version of golems too, and that is Jewish mythology. 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 [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. But as far as cultural appropriation and the Wendigo goes, dont you daredont you DAREtry to take our monsters away from us, PC wankers! So for some woke culture types it's considered a form of disrespectful cultural appropriation to make your own Halloween monster or character based on a wendigo. appropriation, or - as I argue - misappropriation, of the Wendigo as a 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. . Appropriating the Wendigo As it so happens, I am currently working on a project involving a Wendigo, so this is personal to me. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Climbing the totem pole. 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. [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. 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. 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. 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. "[39] Lockhard's ideas explain that wendigos are an expression of a dark aspect of human nature: the drive toward greed, consumption, and disregard for other life in the pursuit of self-aggrandizement. It too is cannibalistic; however, it is characterized as enlightened with ancestral insights. [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. As it so happens, I am currently working on a project involving a Wendigo, so this is personal to me. 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. Magazine with fellow environmental thought leaders, LaDuke said: Theres this conflict between the cannibals and Mother Earth, and its going on everywhere. I am ashamed I watched all the movies. 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. Western capitalistic expansion and cultural appropriation (see . As long as theyre not shoving their porn in your face let them be as Paul McCartney sung. [26][27] During the winter of 1878, Swift Runner and his family were starving, and his eldest son died. Curbing cultural appropriation in the fashion industry with - WIPO Wendigos, teepees and cultural appropriation : r/socialjustice101 - reddit You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. and our [29], Another well-known case involving Wendigo psychosis was that of Jack Fiddler, an Oji-Cree chief and medicine man known for his powers at defeating wendigos. 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. Let's stop dancing around this ugly truth: Right now, Katy Perry is pop culture's most prominent purveyor of racist cultural appropriation. Payals, or anklets, are meant to symbolize the arrival of a wife into her husband's house. 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. 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. She annoys the hell out of me. So some may be fine if you draw it but don't say its full name. 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? Antlers: The Wendigo Monster's History, Explained - CBR So for some woke culture types it's considered a form of disrespectful cultural appropriation to make your own Halloween monster or character based on a wendigo. 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. Cultural appropriation is a huge red flag that the brand has minimal diversity or representation behind the scenes," she explains. Return to Article Details Culturally Conceptualizing Trauma: The Windigo in Joseph Boyden's Three Day Road For other uses, see, Graham, John Russell; John Coates; Barbara Swartzentruber; Brian Ouellette; ", harvcoltxt error: no target: CITEREFSchwarz1969 (, International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, descriptive template for the Indian savage, corporate voracity, exploitation, and power, "Windigo: The Flesh-Eating Monster of Native American Legend", International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, "Windigo, the Ice Cannibal (Wendigo, Wiindigoo, Windgo, Windego)", "Relations des Jsuites contenant ce qui s'est pass de plus remarquable dans les missions des Pres de la Compagnie de Jsus dans la Nouvelle-France", "The Jesuit Relations: Travels and Expectations of the Jesuit Missionaries in New France, 16101791", "Love, and Death in Stephen King's 'Pet Sematary', "The In Character Interview with Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler", "Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler on writing an Indigenous horror story", "ANTLERS: GUILLERMO DEL TORO E SCOTT COOPER SVELANO IL SIGNIFICATO DEL WENDIGO", "Supernatural - Season 1, Episode 2: Wendigo", "Fallout 76 Creatures: Bethesda Tells Tales of the Wendigo", "The Wiitiko Psychosis in the Context of Ojibwa Personality and Culture", Seeing Wetiko: on Capitalism, Mind Viruses, and Antidotes for a World in Transition, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wendigo&oldid=1139431905, Legendary creatures of the indigenous peoples of North America, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism, Articles with text in Algonquian languages, Articles containing Proto-Algonquian-language text, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from March 2022, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Articles with failed verification from August 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Teicher, Morton I. Dollightful's Wendigo Doll - Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation? My 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. Is it Cultural Appropriation if I have a Wendigo character. For this screenshot controversy, I am actually going to go over a video game for this. This makes them so ravenous for human flesh that they pounce upon women, children, and even upon men, like veritable werewolves, and devour them voraciously, without being able to appease or glut their appetiteever seeking fresh prey, and the more greedily the more they eat. 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. 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 may be a figure from American Indian mythology, but it belongs to all of humankind. 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 There's nothing wrong with drawing the popular concept of a wendigo monster, or drawing any monster with antlers, and calling it a wendigo. 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. What is cultural appropriation vs. cultural appreciation? You dont have to be French to love the Phantom of the Opera. Cookie Notice [43] These works set the template for later portrayals in popular culture, at times even replacing the Native American lore. Ten years later, "cultural appropriation" is no longer an obscure academic term . 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. One day they came to an Indian village and the Windigo sent the boy to the Indian village to get some things for him to eat. 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. 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. The Wendigos - Until Dawn Wiki | Fandom This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform.
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