Flight Rising Discussion

I find the familiar name change really out of the blue so I'm genuinely curious. I always thought the wendigo lore and whatnot was really neat but is it offensive to the native culture?

Here's the suggestions thread on the topic.

I've noticed the wendigo has become very popular in video games, art, books, and the like. It's interesting natives would be offended by their legends becoming mainstream.

FR has a lot of thin-skinned folks on it. This isn't the first time a name change has occurred.

(Someone tell me if I'm stepping on any toes by saying this as I'm not native, and that's not my intention!)

From what I gather from reading the thread linked above (which was deleted in the time it took me to post this) it's less about getting offended by their legends in general becoming mainstream as you put it and moreso...the specific legends/spirits being chosen to become mainstream should never have been even considered a possibility for that kind of thing. It's like, ah, kinda like glorifying the things that really aren't that...glamorous?

I don't want to try and give examples because I don't have the same experiences as others so I don't exactly have a right, but yeah.

I’m not native, so this is only from what I’ve HEARD, but from what I’ve heard about the wendigo from native people, the wendigo is a really horrific thing and media portrayals tend to completely misrepresent it, treat it too lightly, etc. Knowing this, the wendigo familiar has always made me uncomfortable, and I welcome the name change

Yeah it's been in the air for a while. I think there were some complaints about it around a year ago as well? So I suppose it's for the best. I don't see any reason to be upset about the name change either, I mean, the familiar is just a piece of art and doesn't look too much like an actual Wendigo anyway.

I managed to read the entire thread linked above before it got deleted and I agree with Arreat, a lot of users now a days have super paper thin skin.

So, how long will it take for other people to start complaining and demanding the kitsunes and other things based on real world mythologies to be changed?

I hope this change doesn't start this kind of trend among the community

i've got mixed feelings about it. the name change doesn't bother me much but at the same time, why? i didn't get to read the thread so i don't know what anyone said. but if something as big as until dawn didn't get struck down for its use of the wendigo, why is it an issue that's attacked here? i love native american folklore. it's interesting and i wish it was more widely looked at than just "top 10 spooky native american stories"

on the other hand, i support it. it's apart of the algonquian culture. and if they don't want it used here, then they should've changed it. but again, i didn't get to read it so i don't know.

it's also just a familiar. a simple spirte in a game that its only purpose is to help you get money. it's not that deep. and that can be applied both the changing and not changing it.