The monster in the Potawatomi culture is Wendigo who suffers from the illness of taking too much and sharing too little. Wendigo thinking puts the survival of the community at risk by incentivizing individual desire for accumulation far beyond the point of enough.
When I read this, I realized we have such a monster living among us devouring our democracy, our freedom. Such as the 900 page “Project 2025” with provisions of the blueprint being put into practice by the present administration.
Such as the Great Gatsby Halloween Party at Trump’s Mar-a-lago on the same night when millions of Americans were facing a morning of not having enough to eat.
And there is the 128-page notice put out by Housing and Urban Development last week that details a plan that could place 170,000 formerly homeless people back on the streets. The plan calls for cutting aid for permanent housing by two-thirds in 2026 and a 30% cut to the more than 800 projects of the continuums of care program.
Just as the Wendigo puts personal gratification above the need of others, we have an administration that seems to care only about accumulating more money and power.
The way to turn the tables on this administration is the way you beat the Wendigo monster, with a gift economy that is not measured by individual gain but by mutual well-being.
I’m Dan Kenney, and this is my perspective.
