Cultural appropriation by a dominant culture is harmful to underrepresented cultures because it reduces cultural significance and reinforces double standards. 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. The idea of getting down to the nitty-gritty came from the 18th century English slave trade, when nitty-gritty referred to the worthless debris left at the ship's bottom compartment after slaves had been evacuatedand evolved to include the slaves themselves. My intentions were pure, as were Rowling's, I imagine. Cultural appropriation consists of borrowing something from another culture in mockery or thoughtless misuse. And they are worth considering including in ones classroom teaching. 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? 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. 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. 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. Political correctness started out as one thing, a good thing. [56], Various characters inspired by the legend, or named for it, appear in Role-playing video games, such as 2018's Fallout 76 by Bethesda Game Studios, where wendigos are featured as one of the cryptid enemies found in the area of Appalachia, mutated from people who consumed human flesh in isolation. 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 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. 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. 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. It really depends who you talk to. 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. MORTUI VELOCES SUNT! But its none of your concern what turns someone on! But overall I can't stand JKR. 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. Strictly speaking, cultural appropriation is the adoption of some element of another culture -- food, language, practices, fashion, etc. 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. Archived post. Humans could also turn into wendigos by being in contact with them for too long. They got Thor and Loki all wrong and what the hell? "[37] This application allows Native Americans to describe colonialism and its agents as wendigos since the process of colonialism ejected natives from their land and threw the natural world out of balance. Wendigos/Windigos/etc. Im just struggling to understand the significance of it. Windigo is a malevolent manitou or spirit whose insatiable appetite for human flesh can never be satisfied. The horror film Antlers adopts an old monster for its story, which serves as both a benefit and a hindrance. His line of questioning effectively asks what if the monstrosity we face is actually not an otherworldly presence but our all too human selves?. The use of the creature in horror stories . In, This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 02:58. My tongue and my brain do not speak the right language. Learn how your comment data is processed. [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. 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. wendigo appropriationplymouth township mi police scanner. This country is seeking to be whole Stretching out its arms and consuming all it can. 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. 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. Wendigo) from its cultural conte xt and its movement by non-Indigenous . It will survive on it's own. Cultural appropriation, feel like a real blur to me but I never worry about it I feel it can dampen the creative process. "Why is indigenous culture suddenly more sacred than any other culture?". ". 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. It just looks like a human that may be bigger than normal. By Christian Chiakulas, Contributor Writer, musician, activist, single father from Chicago. But as far as cultural appropriation and the Wendigo goes, dont you daredont you DAREtry to take our monsters away from us, PC wankers! 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. without permission.1 https://www.deviantart.com/forum/community/complaints/2611618/. In addition to denoting a cannibalistic monster from certain traditional folklore, some Native Americans also understand the wendigo conceptually. 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. You're absolutively spot on! Other sources say wendigos were created when a human resorted to cannibalism to survive. (A friend sent this screenshot to me, along with the info, because he knows how much PC-ism pisses me off. Sacred creatures? Don't miss a beat. 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. And besides that, it never hurts to include your sources. Climbing the totem pole. No cultural appropriation in it, I promise! Just as the vampire and werewolf do not belong exclusively to people of European descent and the Mummy doesnt belong to Egyptians. [17] Therefore, wendigos are portrayed as simultaneously gluttonous and extremely thin due to starvation. 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. #QuickBooksVictoryPose #vtuber #culturalappropriation #nativeamerican #wendigo #folklore, justin bieber interview with ellen arranged marriage, Airplane ticket off at terminal five on 2023 on the 10th 2023, enriquecrespo habla de la hija de alexandra, Command too spawn in iron in a township tale. are not cryptids, and don't even traditionally have deer skulls for heads. And some natives don't care at all. 8.1.2014. [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. 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. 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. The Wendigo, also known as the Hollowed, was a type of Creature of Grimm that was proposed to appear in the animated webseries RWBY. appropriation, or - as I argue - misappropriation, of the Wendigo as a White authors should be able to write about non-white people. So yeah, if anyone could offer any insight/information, thatd be appreciated. Funny how it's only creatures from certain culture's folklore people get pissy over and not others. 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. 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 . It too is cannibalistic; however, it is characterized as enlightened with ancestral insights. 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. Clunky prose aside, this is the "noble savage" trope repurposed for Rowling's universe, with just a pinch of Magical Negro thrown in for good measure. Cultural appropriation takes place when members of a majority group adopt cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical way. 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. Cultural appropriation means using a racial, religious, or social group's customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits without authority or right. 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 [57] In the 2018 first-person shooter video game Dusk, wendigos are enemies that remain invisible until they receive damage. She states that the wendigo symbolically represents three major concepts: it is the incarnation of winter, the embodiment of hunger, and the personification of selfishness. In some traditions, humans overpowered by greed could turn into wendigos; the myth thus served as a method of encouraging cooperation and moderation. This term only applies to a . (Anything that isnt outright vandalism isnt likely to harm the statue at all, but I wouldnt dare do anything disrespectful around it. [13] They were strongly associated with winter, the north, coldness, famine, and starvation.[14]. Doing so is an honorable endeavorbut only if we actually do our homework first. The wendigo is a terrifying presence that feeds on negative energy and human flesh, making it a natural addition to the horror genre. I believe that the Wendigo is far older than that, far more primal. How dare they? 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. 11. I believe cultural appropriation is Only when someone of another 'race' or culture creates something and passes it off as if it is authentic. It has become something else altogether. Create what you want; let the audience decide its fame. 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. 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. 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. 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]. 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. Historically, deciding exactly what culture is hasn't been easy. 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. 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. There's also Wendigo psychosis. Appreciation is honoring and respecting another culture and its practices, as a way to gain knowledge and understanding. 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 . Magazine with fellow environmental thought leaders, LaDuke said: Theres this conflict between the cannibals and Mother Earth, and its going on everywhere. In addition to characterizing individual people who exhibit destructive tendencies, the wendigo can also describe movements and events with similarly negative effects. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The e-book is here, and you can get a paperback copy here.). 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. He said, "You bet there is, I have eaten lots of Indians, no wonder they are fat." 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. Their visitations speak to the inseparability of human experience National identity is irrelevant to this borderless horror. In my blind quest to represent everyone, all I did was reinforce the problem. I have always felt a distinct emotional connection to it, in fact. 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. DeSanti points to the 1999 horror film Ravenous as an illustration of this argument equating "the cannibal monster" to "American colonialism and manifest destiny". 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). Okay, dont anybody get me wrong. 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. does not have antlers or have any wolf features. [28] He eventually confessed and was executed by authorities at Fort Saskatchewan. 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. Exactly!! He was eating the juice (marrow) from the inside of the bones of his legs that were cut off. There's nothing wrong with drawing the popular concept of a wendigo monster, or drawing any monster with antlers, and calling it a wendigo. Certainly Navajo "skin walkers" are one of the more common Native American legends that non-native writers reference (the only other example I can think of that comes close is the Algonquin Wendigo), but like I said, it would be presumptuous of me to guess at Rowling's research style. Cultural appropriation is a huge red flag that the brand has minimal diversity or representation behind the scenes," she explains. As a concept, wendigo can apply to situations other than some Native American-European relations. Your culture and entertainment cheat-sheet. Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge 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. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I really just want to learn about how to appreciate aspects of cultures that I am not included in respectfully. That's an easy solution and I still keep my freedom to create. I would not care much about what a statistically likely personally unrelated "woke" thinks about what Algonquin descendants may think about it, but only what Algonquin descendants. Dollightful's Wendigo Doll - Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation? And unfortunately for them, this isn't the first time. America is the symbol of inclusion, so as part of the American culture we embrace foreign influences in our society. [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. I will draw whatever I feel like drawing. That will depend on who you ask. In theory, art and other cultural products are created for the. [5], In his 2004 treatise Revenge of the Windigo on disorders and treatments of the behavioral health industry in the United States and Canada that are peculiar to indigenous people, James B. Waldram wrote,[34]. Don't tell lies to those Indians." Posted by [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. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Wendigo is a part of MCU, too. Check it out here:https://youtu.be/fHE4fkvUpWMI really just made this video to express how I am currently feeling about the wendigo doll situation and the questions I have about it. What I do think is not so great was it could have been something that was corrected for the films, where they do have access to people and the internet was more developed in the mid 2000s.
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