Bad Cree

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes depictions of anti-Indigenous racism and substance misuse.

The wheetigo (also spelled wiindigo, windigo, or wendigo) is an important figure in Indigenous myth. Stories of the wheetigo are present in the oral histories of various Indigenous and First Nations groups. Although variations on the wheetigo myth do occur, it is characterized similarly in each of these traditions: The wheetigo is a malevolent spirit and is sometimes depicted with human or semi-human characteristics. It has the power to shape-shift and possess human bodies. Bodies who become possessed by the spirit of the wheetigo are overcome by hunger so insatiable that they are driven toward cannibalism. The wheetigo is often depicted with a heart of ice and is frequently associated with winter and winter storms. Its foul odor precedes its approach, and it typically tries to isolate its prey before feeding on it.

The wheetigo is said to be borne out of extreme greed, and it preys on greedy individuals. It also victimizes individuals who become lost and those who are in distress. People interpret the wheetigo myth as a warning against selfishness, obsession, and greed, and Johns uses it in Bad Cree to depict the danger that oil companies and other predatory industries pose to First Nations communities such as the one in which