[icecannibal]

matchitehew + genderless + anicinàpe neet + disabled, disordered, and dysfunctional

cleared out blog to stay as informational for my ice cannibal post

[icecannibal]

native appropriation, ft. the ice cannibal

do not tag as: "horror", "gore", "long post", or any variant of the name of this creature (even censored) okay to tag as: "ice cannibal", "cultural appropriation", "racism", or any variant of native-targeted racism

i do not want this tagged as "horror" or "gore" because i'd like for people who are not native to see this post. i apologize for preferring it to not be tagged as such, but this is an important post that i'd rather not be glimpsed over due to content warnings.

before reading: please do not tag this or reblog with unnecessary comments. this includes reiterating what i said and white guilt ("i'm so sorry i never knew"). i do not want apologies; i want action. i do not need to hear you say you will change; just do it. i do not want to see tags saying "it's so hard, but i try not to say it." it is a word. simply do not say it. i apologize to those who have a screen reader saying this to them, but i will be censoring the original names of the ice cannibals (however, i will be putting in the vowels missing for context). i am only mentioning these names censored so that there is no confusion as to who these are. do not tag my post as their names.

i will continue to contact people who do not respect my wishes and block if i am not listened to. i screenshot all behavior for later usage, if anything were to come up.

summary: please stop aestheticizing, romanticizing, and sexualizing native creatures- especially evil spirits. please stop using our beliefs and creatures as parts of your identity and aus. it is tiring, racist, and disrespectful. when dealing with evil spirits, it is also very dangerous.

here is the link to my original version of this post.

content:

what are ice cannibals, and what do they look like?

what are some examples of ice cannibals and appropriation?

why is it inappropriate to refer to the ice cannibals by name and to incorporate them into your identity?

what is a good replacement for ice cannibals in media, if one enjoyed their "aesthetic" without knowing it was racist?

--

the ice cannibal is an evil spirit from commonly algonquin beliefs. they are highly associated with that of other nations as well, and go by different names. the one they are most commonly known as is the w*nd*g**g (i, e, o, a). in other nations, they are also known as ch*n**k (e, o, o), w*t*k*w*k (i, i, o, a), and k*w*hq*y*k (i, a, i, i). (i repeat myself once again, do not tag this post as these names. please tag it as "ice cannibal" if you must. i feel disgusted simply typing these words censored. i am only putting them here so there is absolutely no confusion as to what i am speaking of.) their stories vary from nation to nation, but their relativity within these main stories tend to overlap in many cases. in these stories, people become ice cannibals through committing sins (most notoriously cannibalism, hence the name "ice cannibal.")

the most common descriptions of them (in order of named creatures) are listed as:

The apperance of a ... is huge, monstrous, and made of or coated in ice, but the human it once was is still frozen inside the monster where its heart should be...

(the next two are virtually the same, but refrain from commenting on their physical depiction, but rather how they become ice cannibals through sins, particularly cannibalism.)

The appearance of a ... is huge, monstrous, and made of or coated in ice. In some Cree stories, looking directly at a ... will leave a person paralyzed and helpless against it. ...'s heart is said to be made of ice, and the monster can only be permanently killed if its heart is completely melted.

(sources: 1, 2, 3, 4) (archive 1, 2, 3, 4) - this site also lists these creatures under the monster type as explicitly "ice cannibal", hence my reference to them as such on this post.

another set of descriptions to take into account is from this site. however, it is possible to take this with a grain of salt; this website is ran by the canadian government, and this article was written by a white man. there could be credibility to this information, but i am unable to confirm nor deny this at the moment.

Sometimes, ... are described as exceptionally thin, with the skull and skeleton pushing through its ash-coloured, mummy-like skin. Other stories describe the... as a well-fleshed giant who gets proportionately larger the more it eats. According to other legends, the ... has pointed or animal-like ears with antlers or horns sprouting on its head. A ... eyes have been described as sunken or glowing like hot coals. Sharp and pointy teeth, extremely bad breath and body odour are also often traits of a ... .

it is important to take these descriptions into account when we go over how people appropriate the ice cannibals.

the essential "awakening" of ice cannibal myth within "modern" tales (read: by those who are not native) stems from stephen king's pet sematary (1983) and the girl who loved tom gordon (1999). it takes place as an antagonist. while it is not described (as i have read in my research, as i will not be reading it for my own comfort), this is what essentially broke the conversation for ice cannibals outside of native groups.

the bastardized depiction of the ice cannibal is seen here. you can see the difference between this and the original is that these ones do not even appear to be ice cannibals. the earliest depiction i can find of this are from the 2001 film by the same name as these monsters (uncensored algonquin name), directed by larry fessenden. while i cannot elaborate for this movie- as i refuse to see it- it is depicted in this trailer (archive) (tw for paranoia and flashing lights). the most recent depiction of this is in the 2021 film, antlers (directed by guillermo del toro). it is not depicted in the final trailer (archive) released in 2019, but by googling the title with the word you will find the image after a little diving. i will also be refusing to watch this movie and will not go further than google searching for my own comfort.

here are some images of the bastardized and colonized ice cannibal:

[IMAGE ID: there is a set of two images, each depicting what is thought to be an ice cannibal. they look different than previously described. the one on the left is a black, lanky figure with a deer skull and trees in the background. the right one is an emaciated humanoid figure with antlers peeping from its head, staring down. /END ID.]

these are some examples of appropriation of the ice cannibals. some more recent ones can be found upon tumblr with an easy search, as seen here:

(source archives: 1, 2, 3)

[IMAGE ID: there is a set of three images. each of them are screenshots from tumblr posts and a page from a tumblr desktop blog. the first image is by user "termcoiningtime". this post consists of a flag, which is described as "w*ndidawngender (e) is a neurogender describing gender impacted by trauma caused by the w*nd*g*s (e, i, o) in until dawn" the second image is a screenshot by user "cryptidgenderoftheday". this is an image of an ice cannibal with the aforementioned bastardized depiction, and is captioned as "today's cryptid gender: the w*nd*g*" (e, i, o). the third image is a screenshot from user pronoun-provider which contains a set of pronouns. these pronouns use the explicit word for ice cannibals. /END ID.]

here is an example of the ice cannibals being used improperly for a "monster au", especially for that of a group of racist minecraft youtubers.

the usage of these spirits in such a way and the open usage of their proper name is inappropriate for at least two reasons:

their name gives them power. by speaking their name, especially in the cold or while in snow, you are more likely to summon them to you

the bastardized depiction puts an aesthetic to the ice cannibals, and makes them seem less foreboding. it makes them appear in a way that isn't horrifying.

a way that you could relate this to is how depictions view the "devil." they see him as true evil, and by saying his name you are letting him into your world. this is the only way that there is a similarity between the two.

let's say you like how the ice cannibals look in their bastardized form. i cannot stop you, but i can give you an alternative that is not racist: the leshy (especially the witcher 3: wild hunt depiction). while the leshy is only one being who shapeshifts, it is commonly depicted in a way similar to the were-deer that is the bastardized ice cannibal.

[IMAGE ID: two images side by side. they both depict a leshy, which is a slavic forest spirit. it has a skull and antlers in both of them and a treelike body. the first is found from pinterest, and the second is from the witcher wiki. /END ID]

[readpinned-deactivated20230904]

can i add as a native person that the spirit was and is often used in stories to be the very concept of colonialism brought to flesh- espessially with the “giant” description, it was used in stories to process the trauma caused by whites geociding us. this wasnt its only use but it was a prominent one. the creature is endless hunger, greed, heartlessness and associated with the illnesses white people brought and the harm they would to tribes, the women and children they would steal and kill or worse. 

In specific stories it is directly used as a stand in for white people. “destroying everything it ins path” “forcing migrations” “spreading illness and death” “able to traverse the whole country in one step” it was easier for children (and even adults) to process the horror by saying it was a monster. it was easier to tell optimistic stories of being able to kill one or free people harmed by it when it was a monster. one story in particular even focuses on loss of culture caused by the spirits. 

its extra touchy to see non native people, espessially white people, use it. because YOU are the people who its talking about. and it shows its not “just your ancestors”. you white people still have an infinite greed and hunger to harm us. its ironic in a way i cannot laugh at. 

(I dont know if this is specific to the ojibwe cultural approach to them or not, these are just the things ive heard while reading stories (from native websites that archive them- not white “stories” about them. archives of spoken ones)) 

[icecannibal]

thank you for your additions! i appreciate it very much. i hope you are having a wonderful day/night.

[icecannibal]

native appropriation, ft. the ice cannibal

do not tag as: "horror", "gore", "long post", or any variant of the name of this creature (even censored) okay to tag as: "ice cannibal", "cultural appropriation", "racism", or any variant of native-targeted racism

i do not want this tagged as "horror" or "gore" because i'd like for people who are not native to see this post. i apologize for preferring it to not be tagged as such, but this is an important post that i'd rather not be glimpsed over due to content warnings.

before reading: please do not tag this or reblog with unnecessary comments. this includes reiterating what i said and white guilt ("i'm so sorry i never knew"). i do not want apologies; i want action. i do not need to hear you say you will change; just do it. i do not want to see tags saying "it's so hard, but i try not to say it." it is a word. simply do not say it. i apologize to those who have a screen reader saying this to them, but i will be censoring the original names of the ice cannibals (however, i will be putting in the vowels missing for context). i am only mentioning these names censored so that there is no confusion as to who these are. do not tag my post as their names.

i will continue to contact people who do not respect my wishes and block if i am not listened to. i screenshot all behavior for later usage, if anything were to come up.

summary: please stop aestheticizing, romanticizing, and sexualizing native creatures- especially evil spirits. please stop using our beliefs and creatures as parts of your identity and aus. it is tiring, racist, and disrespectful. when dealing with evil spirits, it is also very dangerous.

here is the link to my original version of this post.

content:

what are ice cannibals, and what do they look like?

what are some examples of ice cannibals and appropriation?

why is it inappropriate to refer to the ice cannibals by name and to incorporate them into your identity?

what is a good replacement for ice cannibals in media, if one enjoyed their "aesthetic" without knowing it was racist?

--

the ice cannibal is an evil spirit from commonly algonquin beliefs. they are highly associated with that of other nations as well, and go by different names. the one they are most commonly known as is the w*nd*g**g (i, e, o, a). in other nations, they are also known as ch*n**k (e, o, o), w*t*k*w*k (i, i, o, a), and k*w*hq*y*k (i, a, i, i). (i repeat myself once again, do not tag this post as these names. please tag it as "ice cannibal" if you must. i feel disgusted simply typing these words censored. i am only putting them here so there is absolutely no confusion as to what i am speaking of.) their stories vary from nation to nation, but their relativity within these main stories tend to overlap in many cases. in these stories, people become ice cannibals through committing sins (most notoriously cannibalism, hence the name "ice cannibal.")

the most common descriptions of them (in order of named creatures) are listed as:

The apperance of a ... is huge, monstrous, and made of or coated in ice, but the human it once was is still frozen inside the monster where its heart should be...

(the next two are virtually the same, but refrain from commenting on their physical depiction, but rather how they become ice cannibals through sins, particularly cannibalism.)

The appearance of a ... is huge, monstrous, and made of or coated in ice. In some Cree stories, looking directly at a ... will leave a person paralyzed and helpless against it. ...'s heart is said to be made of ice, and the monster can only be permanently killed if its heart is completely melted.

(sources: 1, 2, 3, 4) (archive 1, 2, 3, 4) - this site also lists these creatures under the monster type as explicitly "ice cannibal", hence my reference to them as such on this post.

another set of descriptions to take into account is from this site. however, it is possible to take this with a grain of salt; this website is ran by the canadian government, and this article was written by a white man. there could be credibility to this information, but i am unable to confirm nor deny this at the moment.

Sometimes, ... are described as exceptionally thin, with the skull and skeleton pushing through its ash-coloured, mummy-like skin. Other stories describe the... as a well-fleshed giant who gets proportionately larger the more it eats. According to other legends, the ... has pointed or animal-like ears with antlers or horns sprouting on its head. A ... eyes have been described as sunken or glowing like hot coals. Sharp and pointy teeth, extremely bad breath and body odour are also often traits of a ... .

it is important to take these descriptions into account when we go over how people appropriate the ice cannibals.

the essential "awakening" of ice cannibal myth within "modern" tales (read: by those who are not native) stems from stephen king's pet sematary (1983) and the girl who loved tom gordon (1999). it takes place as an antagonist. while it is not described (as i have read in my research, as i will not be reading it for my own comfort), this is what essentially broke the conversation for ice cannibals outside of native groups.

the bastardized depiction of the ice cannibal is seen here. you can see the difference between this and the original is that these ones do not even appear to be ice cannibals. the earliest depiction i can find of this are from the 2001 film by the same name as these monsters (uncensored algonquin name), directed by larry fessenden. while i cannot elaborate for this movie- as i refuse to see it- it is depicted in this trailer (archive) (tw for paranoia and flashing lights). the most recent depiction of this is in the 2021 film, antlers (directed by guillermo del toro). it is not depicted in the final trailer (archive) released in 2019, but by googling the title with the word you will find the image after a little diving. i will also be refusing to watch this movie and will not go further than google searching for my own comfort.

here are some images of the bastardized and colonized ice cannibal:

[IMAGE ID: there is a set of two images, each depicting what is thought to be an ice cannibal. they look different than previously described. the one on the left is a black, lanky figure with a deer skull and trees in the background. the right one is an emaciated humanoid figure with antlers peeping from its head, staring down. /END ID.]

these are some examples of appropriation of the ice cannibals. some more recent ones can be found upon tumblr with an easy search, as seen here:

(source archives: 1, 2, 3)

[IMAGE ID: there is a set of three images. each of them are screenshots from tumblr posts and a page from a tumblr desktop blog. the first image is by user "termcoiningtime". this post consists of a flag, which is described as "w*ndidawngender (e) is a neurogender describing gender impacted by trauma caused by the w*nd*g*s (e, i, o) in until dawn" the second image is a screenshot by user "cryptidgenderoftheday". this is an image of an ice cannibal with the aforementioned bastardized depiction, and is captioned as "today's cryptid gender: the w*nd*g*" (e, i, o). the third image is a screenshot from user pronoun-provider which contains a set of pronouns. these pronouns use the explicit word for ice cannibals. /END ID.]

here is an example of the ice cannibals being used improperly for a "monster au", especially for that of a group of racist minecraft youtubers.

the usage of these spirits in such a way and the open usage of their proper name is inappropriate for at least two reasons:

their name gives them power. by speaking their name, especially in the cold or while in snow, you are more likely to summon them to you

the bastardized depiction puts an aesthetic to the ice cannibals, and makes them seem less foreboding. it makes them appear in a way that isn't horrifying.

a way that you could relate this to is how depictions view the "devil." they see him as true evil, and by saying his name you are letting him into your world. this is the only way that there is a similarity between the two.

let's say you like how the ice cannibals look in their bastardized form. i cannot stop you, but i can give you an alternative that is not racist: the leshy (especially the witcher 3: wild hunt depiction). while the leshy is only one being who shapeshifts, it is commonly depicted in a way similar to the were-deer that is the bastardized ice cannibal.

[IMAGE ID: two images side by side. they both depict a leshy, which is a slavic forest spirit. it has a skull and antlers in both of them and a treelike body. the first is found from pinterest, and the second is from the witcher wiki. /END ID]

[icecannibal]

native appropriation, ft. the ice cannibal

do not tag as: "horror", "gore", "long post", or any variant of the name of this creature (even censored) okay to tag as: "ice cannibal", "cultural appropriation", "racism", or any variant of native-targeted racism

i do not want this tagged as "horror" or "gore" because i'd like for people who are not native to see this post. i apologize for preferring it to not be tagged as such, but this is an important post that i'd rather not be glimpsed over due to content warnings.

before reading: please do not tag this or reblog with unnecessary comments. this includes reiterating what i said and white guilt ("i'm so sorry i never knew"). i do not want apologies; i want action. i do not need to hear you say you will change; just do it. i do not want to see tags saying "it's so hard, but i try not to say it." it is a word. simply do not say it. i apologize to those who have a screen reader saying this to them, but i will be censoring the original names of the ice cannibals (however, i will be putting in the vowels missing for context). i am only mentioning these names censored so that there is no confusion as to who these are. do not tag my post as their names.

i will continue to contact people who do not respect my wishes and block if i am not listened to. i screenshot all behavior for later usage, if anything were to come up.

summary: please stop aestheticizing, romanticizing, and sexualizing native creatures- especially evil spirits. please stop using our beliefs and creatures as parts of your identity and aus. it is tiring, racist, and disrespectful. when dealing with evil spirits, it is also very dangerous.

here is the link to my original version of this post.

content:

what are ice cannibals, and what do they look like?

what are some examples of ice cannibals and appropriation?

why is it inappropriate to refer to the ice cannibals by name and to incorporate them into your identity?

what is a good replacement for ice cannibals in media, if one enjoyed their "aesthetic" without knowing it was racist?

--

the ice cannibal is an evil spirit from commonly algonquin beliefs. they are highly associated with that of other nations as well, and go by different names. the one they are most commonly known as is the w*nd*g**g (i, e, o, a). in other nations, they are also known as ch*n**k (e, o, o), w*t*k*w*k (i, i, o, a), and k*w*hq*y*k (i, a, i, i). (i repeat myself once again, do not tag this post as these names. please tag it as "ice cannibal" if you must. i feel disgusted simply typing these words censored. i am only putting them here so there is absolutely no confusion as to what i am speaking of.) their stories vary from nation to nation, but their relativity within these main stories tend to overlap in many cases. in these stories, people become ice cannibals through committing sins (most notoriously cannibalism, hence the name "ice cannibal.")

the most common descriptions of them (in order of named creatures) are listed as:

The apperance of a ... is huge, monstrous, and made of or coated in ice, but the human it once was is still frozen inside the monster where its heart should be...

(the next two are virtually the same, but refrain from commenting on their physical depiction, but rather how they become ice cannibals through sins, particularly cannibalism.)

The appearance of a ... is huge, monstrous, and made of or coated in ice. In some Cree stories, looking directly at a ... will leave a person paralyzed and helpless against it. ...'s heart is said to be made of ice, and the monster can only be permanently killed if its heart is completely melted.

(sources: 1, 2, 3, 4) (archive 1, 2, 3, 4) - this site also lists these creatures under the monster type as explicitly "ice cannibal", hence my reference to them as such on this post.

another set of descriptions to take into account is from this site. however, it is possible to take this with a grain of salt; this website is ran by the canadian government, and this article was written by a white man. there could be credibility to this information, but i am unable to confirm nor deny this at the moment.

Sometimes, ... are described as exceptionally thin, with the skull and skeleton pushing through its ash-coloured, mummy-like skin. Other stories describe the... as a well-fleshed giant who gets proportionately larger the more it eats. According to other legends, the ... has pointed or animal-like ears with antlers or horns sprouting on its head. A ... eyes have been described as sunken or glowing like hot coals. Sharp and pointy teeth, extremely bad breath and body odour are also often traits of a ... .

it is important to take these descriptions into account when we go over how people appropriate the ice cannibals.

the essential "awakening" of ice cannibal myth within "modern" tales (read: by those who are not native) stems from stephen king's pet sematary (1983) and the girl who loved tom gordon (1999). it takes place as an antagonist. while it is not described (as i have read in my research, as i will not be reading it for my own comfort), this is what essentially broke the conversation for ice cannibals outside of native groups.

the bastardized depiction of the ice cannibal is seen here. you can see the difference between this and the original is that these ones do not even appear to be ice cannibals. the earliest depiction i can find of this are from the 2001 film by the same name as these monsters (uncensored algonquin name), directed by larry fessenden. while i cannot elaborate for this movie- as i refuse to see it- it is depicted in this trailer (archive) (tw for paranoia and flashing lights). the most recent depiction of this is in the 2021 film, antlers (directed by guillermo del toro). it is not depicted in the final trailer (archive) released in 2019, but by googling the title with the word you will find the image after a little diving. i will also be refusing to watch this movie and will not go further than google searching for my own comfort.

here are some images of the bastardized and colonized ice cannibal:

[IMAGE ID: there is a set of two images, each depicting what is thought to be an ice cannibal. they look different than previously described. the one on the left is a black, lanky figure with a deer skull and trees in the background. the right one is an emaciated humanoid figure with antlers peeping from its head, staring down. /END ID.]

these are some examples of appropriation of the ice cannibals. some more recent ones can be found upon tumblr with an easy search, as seen here:

(source archives: 1, 2, 3)

[IMAGE ID: there is a set of three images. each of them are screenshots from tumblr posts and a page from a tumblr desktop blog. the first image is by user "termcoiningtime". this post consists of a flag, which is described as "w*ndidawngender (e) is a neurogender describing gender impacted by trauma caused by the w*nd*g*s (e, i, o) in until dawn" the second image is a screenshot by user "cryptidgenderoftheday". this is an image of an ice cannibal with the aforementioned bastardized depiction, and is captioned as "today's cryptid gender: the w*nd*g*" (e, i, o). the third image is a screenshot from user pronoun-provider which contains a set of pronouns. these pronouns use the explicit word for ice cannibals. /END ID.]

here is an example of the ice cannibals being used improperly for a "monster au", especially for that of a group of racist minecraft youtubers.

the usage of these spirits in such a way and the open usage of their proper name is inappropriate for at least two reasons:

their name gives them power. by speaking their name, especially in the cold or while in snow, you are more likely to summon them to you

the bastardized depiction puts an aesthetic to the ice cannibals, and makes them seem less foreboding. it makes them appear in a way that isn't horrifying.

a way that you could relate this to is how depictions view the "devil." they see him as true evil, and by saying his name you are letting him into your world. this is the only way that there is a similarity between the two.

let's say you like how the ice cannibals look in their bastardized form. i cannot stop you, but i can give you an alternative that is not racist: the leshy (especially the witcher 3: wild hunt depiction). while the leshy is only one being who shapeshifts, it is commonly depicted in a way similar to the were-deer that is the bastardized ice cannibal.

[IMAGE ID: two images side by side. they both depict a leshy, which is a slavic forest spirit. it has a skull and antlers in both of them and a treelike body. the first is found from pinterest, and the second is from the witcher wiki. /END ID]