The Wendigo Cannibal: Kâkîsiwêw (Swift Runner)
In 1879, North-West Mounted Police Inspector Claude Gagnon investigates a horrific crime: Cree man Kâkîsiwêw (Swift Runner) has killed and consumed nine family members during a brutal winter of starvation. Swift Runner claims he was possessed by a Wendigo?a spirit of insatiable hunger?but colonial courts dismiss this as either lies or irrelevant insanity. Through Gagnon's investigation, trial testimony, and lifetime of reflection, the book reveals a tragedy far more complex than simple murder. It explores the collision between Indigenous and colonial legal systems, the inadequacy of British law to comprehend Indigenous frameworks for understanding psychological and spiritual crisis, and how colonial policies created the conditions for tragedy while punishing individuals for the consequences. As Gagnon ages, he recognizes that colonial law was designed not for understanding but for asserting sovereignty, that even his careful investigations served a system fundamentally incapable of justice across cultural divides. The book follows similar cases through the Fiddler brothers' prosecution in 1907, examining how the Wendigo concept has been reclaimed by contemporary Indigenous scholars as a metaphor for colonial systems themselves?entities that consume without limit while claiming to provide civilization. An unresolved tragedy demanding ongoing engagement with questions about justice, sovereignty, and genuine coexistence across profound differences.
