If you want to know about the Wendigo in New England, read Chenoo by Joseph Bruchac. It is one of the best and most unique books I have read in a long time. A noir detective, adventure story weaving in contemporary Native American issues, and a hearty helping of traditional Native American storytelling. Chenoo is one of the finest pieces of modern Native American storytelling about the creature most Americans know as the Wendigo. Not to mention an all around fantastically exciting (and educational) novel written in a unique way. November is a great month to read works by Native American authors. It’s Native American Heritage Month and if you live in Northern New England, you are living in the traditional homeland of the Wabanaki people.
“The kiwakwe is the cannibal giant who walks the northern forests of night, a human being before it was inhabited by an insatiable spirit of hunger. Perpetually in pain, howling like the storm wind, it is so hungry that it devours the flesh from its own lips and its arms shoulders. The northern Crees call that one Windigo. Our Pasamaquoddy cousins call him Chenoo.” -JB