I don't think it matters if you don't think I have a right to a say on the matter based on race, but I'm native too. I don't care to measure our racial qualifications any further. It's not just "your folklore", culture is human culture. It is history not something to gatekeep and get mad over. Were you the first to encounter the wendigo? Was your spoken tale the start of the legend? This monster worked its way into native folklore because people were let into the story. The information was shared from one man to another. Other people would tell their own soon after. Please don't be elitist about storytelling. Can't you see the concept of the wendigo has stretched far past its origins? It is like Yokai. A native Japanese person could probably explain to you the difference between local legend and its use in media, but it's already left the bounds of the island. How many authors now have used them to tell wonderful and terrifying stories themselves? I think the original orators and authors would be so incredibly thrilled to see yokai shared in these stories, as they themselves felt the urge to share it too! Like fairies, The wendigo is already well ingrained in worldwide culture and heavily associated with woodlands and nature. Why not use it here? It fits, it works, its terrifying. The concept is being shared to many, shared creatively, and is being exalted as a centerpiece of artistic expression. And as for the original legend? Why rag on new media(that isn't purposefully insulting) instead of just sharing what you know with the people around you? Plenty are willing to listen to old, faithful tales and history. They can coexist. You could have left a comment like "Your piece was great! The wendigo is a really fascinating creature. Did you know..." and it would have only added to the conversation. From almost every instance of cultural appropriation I have been presented with I am beginning to believe it does not have a need for a term, unless it is specifically derogatory. We are all human. This is our history. Did we not share it amongst ourselves? Why not with others? because of our skin? our land of birth? I like to think that tradition is here to be shared and enjoyed not forgotten and controlling.
Things like these make my heart heavy.