Okay can we all collectively agree to leave wendigos out of media unless you know how to properly source your facts cause as an aboriginal man myself I am this close to snapping

So let me lay down the facts for you

The wendigo is a winter spirit. It does not possess the body of someone wandering aimlessly in the woods. It, in fact, is entirely harmless

Think of it as the consequences of your actions as you read the following history lesson:

All mythology and folklore is meant to teach a lesson to those around to hear it. Unfortunately, because the oral traditions of my people were shadowed by colonizers who thought the answer to their problem was to give us blankets and put us in schools that destroyed our identity

I digress. The colonists propaganda makes it so that our culture and traditions were interpreted and changed, until online sources show mostly what they propagated, and not the truth.

Google is not your friend in this endeavour. So here's the skinny:

One day, three hunters leave to gather meat for the coming winter. A blizzard traps them in a cave, and they eventually run out of rations.

One of the hunters goes into the woods to find food. Of those that stayed behind, one eats the other out of hunger and desperation.

When the hunter comes back, that same man eats the hunter, too. It is in this moment the spirit possesses the man.

Now the spirit doesnt force the man to eat humans. Essentially, it makes it so that no matter what he eats, he will never feel full. He will starve to death

He will wander and no village will take him in. He will spend the rest of his days hunted until he dies of hunger--and the spirit will draw it out for months, sometimes years. The spirit cannot turn others into wendigos with a bite

In fact, the spirit cant do anything

The wendigo is a harmless spirit in of itself. It mostly makes the person it possesses regret ever eating another

Remember: myth and folklore are cautionary tales. My people made it so that the wendigo is a spirit that warns you that you will starve to death. A slow agony

Please dont take Until Dawn or S*pernatural as a primary source. While, yes, they are interesting interpretations, they are inaccurate. If you cant source a cultural fact from a person IN that culture, please dont use it

And never be afraid to reach out to someone asking about it! Asking is not disrespectful, or a crime. Its polite and even welcome

Its only cultural appropriation if you refuse to ask and confirm if your information is accurate

Anyway thanks for reading me on my bullshit I've seen a resurgence of wendigo related content lately and it always makes me wanna throw my phone when it crosses that line into disrespect.

Make the content you love, but do it kindly

Btw if you're looking for a good depiction of the wendigo in media, NBC's Hannibal is fantastic. It's not 100%, but Hannibal isnt fully depicted as one. He's just symbolized by one, isn't possessed by it, and is never satisfied

Also you can have a cannibal character that isnt a wendigo. Sometimes, people just like eating people, and that's okay. Research known instances of cannibalism; Wikipedia has a great page about it! Use that as inspiration.

It doesnt have to be a wendigo

Okay so I'm gonna mute this thread now cause wow this blew up?? I wasn't expecting that and I'm super touched by all your kind words!

If you have any questions, please feel free to DM me! I'm always open ;u;