Wendigo

The wendigo is associated with an appetite that cannot be satisfied. Depending on the tradition, it may appear as a supernatural being or a person transformed into something that consumes others. Some accounts connect that transformation with cannibalism, while others describe different causes. Its appearance and origins vary between communities and tellings.

Wendigo traditions belong to several Algonquian-speaking peoples, including Ojibwe communities. “Algonquian” identifies a language family and should not be treated as the name of one uniform culture. Alongside the threat of starvation and cannibalism, these stories can address greed, selfishness, and the destruction of obligations to other people. They remain part of living Indigenous cultural contexts.

Modern horror often turns the wendigo into an antlered wilderness predator. That familiar image differs from traditional descriptions discussed by Indigenous scholars, which frequently emphasize humanlike features and consuming hunger. Reducing it to a forest animal also loses the connection between appetite, conduct, and community.

• The Ojibwe People’s Dictionary, “wiindigoo.”
• BackStory, “The Mythology and Misrepresentation of the Windigo,” with discussion by scholars Shawn Smallman and Brady DeSanti.