hey if you see shit ads like the one promoting genocide in gaza, email support@tumblr.com with a screenshot of the whole ad in view. They may not act promptly but it will take it down. ads like that violate not only Tumblr’s ad policy but also the ad provider’s ad policy
If you think Tumblr individually reviews and approves every ad that appears on their site, you are mistaken. The internet has not worked like that since like, 1999. Ads are given space to appear, and ad providers bid to fill it with their ad supply. It’s all third party.
Wend!g0: appropriated from Algonquian cultures. The word itself (at least this version that I’ve censored) is Ojibwe & is an evil cannibal spirit
Sk*nwalkers: Navajo. Evil medicine men
Ravenmockers: Cherokee, called the Kâ'lanû Ahkyeli'skï in the Native language
Deer Woman: various cultures, including Ojibwe, Cherokee, Seminole, Oceti Sakowin, Haudenosaunee, & more.
Bigfoot/Sasquatch/various other giant hairy humanoids: various cultures, especially the Pacific Northwest. My culture also has them, & they’re called Mistapew in our language. The word & “cryptid” Sasquatch is a bastardization of the word (& spirit) se'sxa from a Salish language (might be Nlaka'pamuctsin).
Lake Eerie Monster/Ogopogo/various other lake monsters: based on Algonquian horned serpent spirit & other similar spirits. Ogopogo in particular was stolen from the Secwepemc spirit Naitaka & the Sylix spirit nx̌ax̌aitkʷ
Thunderbirds: frequently found in many cultures, but most popular in Pacific Northwest Coast cultures, as evident in their art. Also found in some Algonquian cultures, including mine, & my Cree name has this word in it. This one was just straight up stolen & had a “cryptid” label slapped onto it
Caddy/Cadborosaurus: found in various PNWC cultures, called the hiyitl'iik by the Manhousat people, t'chain-ko by the Sechelt, & numkse lee kwala by the Comox in Vancouver.
Skunk Ape: bastardization of the Seminole Esti Capcaki, fitting the same description.
Shunka Warak’in: based on the name, it sounds like it was stolen from Oceti Sakowin legends, since “Shunka” (šúŋka) means “dog”, particularly in Lakota
Adlet: stolen from Inuit legends
Thetis Lake Monster/Canadian Lizard Man: very likely based on & stolen from Haida Gwaii legends
Michigan Dogman: might be a mixture of Odawa legends as well as overlap with wend!g0
Owyhee Mountain Dwarves: stolen from Shoshone and Bannock legends
Nain Rouge: bastardization mix between French folklore called the lutin, and Native legends local to the area
Wampus Cat/Wampus: appears in multiple cultures, including Cherokee.
La Llorona: this one may have been influenced by a “weeping woman” figure that is seen in a few central american cultures, like Cihuacōātl, who has a really similar story with her son Mixcoatl.
Piasa Bird: spirit from Mississippian culture, often depicted in murals and art, including at Cahokia
Pukwudgie: from Wampanoag legends, & is a Wampanoag word. I think similar spirits exist elsewhere
A cryptid is an animal or creature that may or may not biologically exist but has a lot of tall tales surrounding it, and so people into “cryptids” (specifically ones that are appropriated) will use Native legends to fuel their argument & use as “proof” that these “animals” exist/existed, rather than the other way around that these are actually Native spirits that White people got a hold of, decontextualized, bastardized, and then spread inaccurately as “cryptids” or simply “folklore”, with the latter being correct. Or people who think that these are just fun stories think “here’s a cryptid and oh hey here’s a Native spirit fitting the exact same description and the area the cryptid originates from is in the traditional territory as the Native culture this Native spirit is from. It’s just a coincidence.” & don’t think it’s because of appropriation at all.
I’m very likely missing some so there’s probably more, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if multiple OTHER “cryptids” have their origins in Native spirits that we haven’t investigated yet. I’ve also been seeing White people talk about “cryptids” and then just straight up listing Native spirits, even ones that aren’t widely known and don’t even have a history of being called “cryptids”. Which is fucking racist.
Thinking about how when my oldest brother took Japanese classes his professor was like your pronunciation is really good 😊 but you need to watch movies that aren’t about the Yakuza because you sound like a criminal
somewhere in this beautiful world there is a man who sounds like Paulie Walnuts because he learned English by watching the Sopranos
yeah, its all fine and cool to say “fuck columbus” or whatever, but like. dude’s been dead for hundreds of years now. do things that actively help native lives in the present. learn about native lands and cultures. learn to appreciate but not appropriate. help us maintain what little we actually have when the government inevitably tries to take it from us.
For Indigenous People’s Day I’d also like to throw out my own tribe’s water project - it’s becoming increasingly vital as protections surrounding Navajo land get stripped away & reservations are stripped of sovereignty, as the US government has poisoned our water before and will likely do so again without a second thought. Please consider donating to the Navajo Water Project, or giving this a reblog if you’d like. A’he’ee, thank you!
