Wendigo

The wendigo is a horrific and emaciated creature that features in the folklore of many Algonquian tribes of North America. It is the physical representation of greed and is defined by its insatiable hunger. There are countless stories of the creature eating people or even taking part in auto-cannibalism. The ideas of over-consumption, rot, starvation, and greed surround this figure. 

As happens with so much of Native American and First Nations folklore, this creature has been co-opted by non-Native writers and creatives. It features in novels, TV and film, and video games as a monstrous, cannibalistic antagonist. These representations often strip the wendigo of its core purpose and depth. It is not merely a monster, but a state of being. Humans can become wendigos when they succumb to greed. This cryptid is a lesson and a warning, not just a satisfyingly aesthetic beast to destroy via single-shooter video games. 

The skeleton image of clawed hands and a pair of ghostly antlers is an attractive one to many, especially when combined with the tantalizingly horrific idea of cannibalism. And yet, it is the perfect representation for Native-European settler relations, even though to today. Is not the US a wendigo state as is sucks the life from industry, the environment, and its own people? Hasn’t it always been that way? Once the wendigo has nothing else to consume, it must consume itself. It can never be satiated or satisfied. 

At the end of the day, am I really here to create a very long-winded and round-about excuse to rant about how much the US sucks? Maybe. It sucks so much. There are probably CIA agents combing the internet for this very post to use as an excuse to detain me at my next attempt to cross the border (hiya, big guys!). But also, I want to highlight that this piece of folklore has insightful and hauntingly accurate reflections in the modern world. Folklore is important, and we should be very grateful that this piece of it survived the systematic annihilation of the native peoples of North America.

[originally posted to Patreon on 27/4/25]