Differing thinking is one of the cherished assets of democratic cultural pluralism. Still though, Im not sure I fully get the Native American spirits(?) I have to look! Create what you want; let the audience decide its fame. Nitty gritty. Welcome to Facing Today, a Facing History blog. 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. Wendigo | Unpublished Villains Wiki | Fandom [42] In an early short story by Thomas Pynchon, "Mortality and Mercy in Vienna" (first published in 1959), the plot centers around a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. In some cases, this entailed killing people with Wendigo psychosis. Copyright 2022 Facing History & Ourselves. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. What Is Cultural Appropriation? | Britannica 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. When I got over my initial bout of self-defensiveness, I realized I was totally wrong. 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. Writer, musician, activist, single father from Chicago. White authors should be able to write about non-white people. Key elements of culture include: language art,. 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. 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. 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. In 1661, The Jesuit Relations reported: Windigo is a malevolent manitou or spirit whose insatiable appetite for human flesh can never be satisfied. You're just making up a story. As a concept, wendigo can apply to situations other than some Native American-European relations. Theres something else. 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. Strictly speaking, cultural appropriation is the adoption of some element of another culture -- food, language, practices, fashion, etc. The line between what differentiates cultural appropriation from cultural appreciation can be razor-thin, not to mention highly . ][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. Exactly!! 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. 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. It's a term for what happens to people who for one reason or another turn to eating other people. In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. [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. The Wendigo may be a figure from American Indian mythology, but it belongs to all of humankind. Don't miss a beat. I agree with some of it to a point, but disagree with most of it. It really depends who you talk to. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 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.). 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. PDF An Introduction to What I Hear When You Say - Pbs It sounds like you did research which is more that J. K. Rowling so I think yes? 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. 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 . Cultural Appropriation Definition and Examples - What is Cultural Whether you understand it fully or not, cultural appropriation is a real thing and a real problem. 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. Anyone who lives in a place that is exposed to more than . I can write whatever fiction I want, and draw whatever I want. Basically, the word wendigo can also function as a symbol for gluttony and the image of excess. These bonnets are symbols of warrior achievements and are the equivalent of military medals. America is the symbol of inclusion, so as part of the American culture we embrace foreign influences in our society. Part of HuffPost Entertainment. Have you encountered wendigo stories in films, television shows, or books? 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. Why are wendigos seen as offensive? - Quora [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. 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. 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. I think it's okay because you're not trying to rewrite actual history or actual legend. 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. I would refuse to be shackled by political correctness. I'm just struggling to understand the significance of it. PDF Baring the Windigo's Teeth: The Fearsome Figure in Native American Cultural appropriation, feel like a real blur to me but I never worry about it I feel it can dampen the creative process. They're monsters. Is the Wendigo of Native American folklore considered cultural - Quora This was the end of this Giant Windigo. Lots of stories have aped Native American folklore before her, including some of mine. I have drawn my own version of golems too, and that is Jewish mythology. [28] Given that he resorted to cannibalism so near to food supplies, and that he killed and consumed the remains of all those present, it was revealed that Swift Runner's was not a case of pure cannibalism as a last resort to avoid starvation, but rather of a man with Wendigo psychosis. (the proceeding statement may contain some levels of sarcasm.). Idiots have just made a religion out of being racist about culture and only allowing genetic descendants to participate in cultures. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Cultural Appropriation and the Arts | Reviews | Notre Dame When you comment on, Asian American and Pacific Islander History, Race and Membership in American History: Eugenics. No it isn't cultural appropriation, as long as it is researched and accurately presented in the story. I just posted a new video talking about cultural appropriation and art! The cultural appropriation police answer the yoga and banh mi objections with a familiar counter-argument: it's about power. He just gave the boy so much time to go there and back. 12. He wasn't dead. They got Thor and Loki all wrong and what the hell? But its none of your concern what turns someone on! 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? 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. His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 It has no place in the world of Folklore and monsters. I will draw whatever I feel like drawing. The Windigo had a knife and he'd cut the boy on the hand to see if he was fat enough to eat, but the boy didn't get fat. Posted By : / actual instructions in flowcharting are represented in /; Under :nose exercise before and afternose exercise before and after No one can try to stake a singular claim to it. Why the Wendigo is Not My Monster - Mysterious Universe Character can be mean, evil or complete asshole but you still should be respectful while writing said character. People don't get offended on scotland's behalf over the common depiction of their national animal as a rainbow farting fairy horse. For more information, please see our [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. To fully understand its consequences, though, we need to make sure we have a working definition of culture itself. Cultural appropriation consists of borrowing something from another culture in mockery or thoughtless misuse. 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. Creative freedom is a beautiful luxury too many do not understand; it wasn't but a hundred years ago when art was said to have an objective hierarchy, and that was how it was for thousands of years. 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. She annoys the hell out of me. It's fine for colonized Indians to incorporate European fitness . I believe that the Wendigo is far older than that, far more primal. J.K is weird for using name like that, it isn't hard to google names, i know she wrote books before internet was as "popular" as now, but i honestly doubt that she couldn't find name and surname of east asian person, she could of used names from either celebrity ( use surname of one and name of other or something like that), she could of used name from character from some book, there were ways of finding name that isn't bad as Cho-Chang, also i find it a bit weird that said character is in "smart" house, feels way to stereotypical for me. 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. This inspired an entire thread -->, Sucks to be these artists I guess. [57] In the 2018 first-person shooter video game Dusk, wendigos are enemies that remain invisible until they receive damage. One example is Ojibwe activist Winona LaDuke who has called for a decisive shift away from what she has termed Wendigo Economics for the sake of the health of the natural world. In, This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 02:58. [33], The frequency of Wendigo psychosis cases decreased sharply in the 20th century as Boreal Algonquian people came into greater and greater contact with European ideologies and more sedentary, less rural, lifestyles. Cultural appropriation is a bullshit term made up by people who feel some bizarre psychological need to make up reasons to punish themselves. This country is seeking to be whole Stretching out its arms and consuming all it can. Western capitalistic expansion and cultural appropriation (see . . You're absolutively spot on! identity. Some of this critique was rightly directed at literal cultural theft . 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. spellings (see Colombo 2) but is most commonly rendered as Windigo, Wendigo, or Witiko. 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 Monsters like Wendigos often represent, in the imprecise language of emotion, a common cultural fear. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. 11 Culturally Appropriative Halloween Costumes You Should - Bustle 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. Maybe I'm just not a math person. J.K. Rowling's Cultural Appropriation Should Be A Lesson To White Writers Native Americans shouldn't be a "niche," and neither should women, LGBT people, or people of color. In another unaware move made by a YG artist, mega girl group BLACKPINK, were recently called out for cultural appropriation. Beyond Forbes, other Native American thinkers have also used wendigo stories to present critical perspectives on various social problems and call for their resolution. My tongue and my brain do not speak the right language. are not cryptids, and don't even traditionally have deer skulls for heads. Until Dawn: On Representation, the Horror Genre, and the Illusion of He said, "You bet there is, I have eaten lots of Indians, no wonder they are fat." I mentioned above that I was guilty of doing the same thing. The Indians asked the Windigo if there was any fat on them. Film, 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. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. But Native Americans shouldn't be a "niche," and neither should women, LGBT people, or people of color. What lips it had were tattered and bloody Unclean and suffering from suppuration of the flesh, the Wendigo gave off a strange and eerie odor of decay and decomposition, of death and corruption.[15]. That will depend on who you ask. The Wendigo, also known as the Hollowed, was a type of Creature of Grimm that was proposed to appear in the animated webseries RWBY. "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. 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. There's nothing wrong with drawing the popular concept of a wendigo monster, or drawing any monster with antlers, and calling it a wendigo. 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). My basic rule is simple: be respectful. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. (1961). 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. "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. Ten years later, "cultural appropriation" is no longer an obscure academic term . Cultural appropriation means using a racial, religious, or social group's customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits without authority or right. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Is it Cultural Appropriation if I have a Wendigo character? 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. Political correctness started out as one thing, a good thing. 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. to tell a new tale. LOL. without permission. But, but, what if they're looking at something that erodes the moral fabric of civilization? 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. 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? In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. Wendigo psychosis is a fascinating condition with a storied history. It has become something else altogether. Payals, or anklets, are meant to symbolize the arrival of a wife into her husband's house. Cultural Appropriation of Indigenous Peoples in Canada Not only is it not offensive, I LOVE seeing references to wendigos in popular culture! [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. "Why is indigenous culture suddenly more sacred than any other culture?". Learn how your comment data is processed. No they fucking aren't. How to Recognize Cultural Appropriation and What to Do - Healthline Wendigo - Flesheater of the Forests - Legends of America I can't say for sure how much research Rowling did when writing her series, but others have pointed out that it doesn't seem like much. In addition to denoting a cannibalistic monster from certain traditional folklore, some Native Americans also understand the wendigo conceptually. Draw/write what you want, I say. 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. 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. To Helheimr with it! It will survive on it's own. The legend of the Wendigo: an anthropological phenomenon of the Native It was already here. The book's cul-tural importance granted it not one, but two movie adaptations, the first in 1989 and the second in 2019. wendigos originate from spiritual beliefs held by Algonquian Indigenous peoples, whom are from the north eastern part of north america. Doing so is an honorable endeavorbut only if we actually do our homework first. With teepees, Im not sure I get it. The windigo, however, continues to seek revenge for this attempted scholarly execution by periodically duping unsuspecting passers-by, like psychiatrists, into believing that windigo psychosis not only exists but that a psychiatrist could conceivably encounter a patient suffering from this disorder in his or her practice today! [clarification needed] The ceremony, known as wiindigookaanzhimowin, was performed during times of famine, and involved wearing masks and dancing backward around a drum. (Anything that isnt outright vandalism isnt likely to harm the statue at all, but I wouldnt dare do anything disrespectful around it. Climbing the totem pole. 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. 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. Aye, I love wendigos. Im glad, because I dont believe that it is. Topics: Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. 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 . The concept of cultural appropriation began well enough, but just like everything else woke culture political correctness, it's gone way too far. All of these Indians went to where the Windigo was and cut off his legs. BTW, I love rainbow farting unicorns! As long as theyre not shoving their porn in your face let them be as Paul McCartney sung. Native Americans, Our headquarters are located at: 89 South Street, Suite 401, Boston, MA 02111. I'm just glad I learned this lesson from her before actually getting my book published. In theory, art and other cultural products are created for the. Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled. I am ashamed I watched all the movies. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. Curbing cultural appropriation in the fashion industry with - WIPO 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. Native Appropriations View of Culturally Conceptualizing Trauma: The Windigo in Joseph - UNB Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge Sacred creatures? 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? 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.
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