Swift Runner was a Cree hunter from Alberta who, during the brutal winter of 1878-79, committed an act of cannibalism, killing and consuming his wife and five children. He later claimed he had been possessed by the Wendigo—a supernatural entity in Algonquian folklore believed to drive people to madness and cannibalism. The Wendigo is said to embody insatiable hunger, preying on those who succumb to desperation, particularly in times of famine.
Anthropologists have linked Swift Runner’s case to Wendigo psychosis, a cultural phenomenon in which individuals experience an intense fear of turning into a Wendigo, sometimes leading them to commit acts of cannibalism. This condition has been documented among Indigenous groups in Canada, often emerging in extreme survival situations.
The case also reflects the impact of early colonialism on Indigenous cultures. By the late 19th century, European expansion had disrupted traditional ways of life, leading to food shortages, forced assimilation, and the erosion of spiritual beliefs. The Cree people, like many other Indigenous groups, faced immense hardship due to the loss of their land and resources. Some scholars argue that the psychological distress caused by colonial oppression may have contributed to cases like Swift Runner’s, where Indigenous individuals struggled with identity, survival, and cultural displacement.
Swift Runner was arrested, tried, and executed by hanging at Fort Saskatchewan in December 1879, marking one of the most infamous cases associated with Wendigo lore, psychosis, and the broader consequences of colonialism.
Sources:
https://archive.org/details/swiftrunner0000thom
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2357596
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/202953
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38034155/
https://scholarworks.arcadia.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1050&context=senior_theses
https://read.dukeupress.edu/ethnohistory/article-pdf/56/3/355/253996/EH056-03-01CarlsonFpp.pdf
https://rawvision.com/blogs/articles/articles-joe-colemans-swift-runner
https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/35660
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/law-and-history-review/article/heart-of-ice-indigenous-defendants-and-colonial-law-in-the-canadian-northwest/CE39FBA8DBF8C3E68C6A7CE537B8FD7C
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