For a number of years now, the grey wolf has been the primary North American charismatic megafauna to be associated with the environmental movement, particularly that involving preserving wilderness habitats. Beyond the environmental movement, wolves capture imaginations (and cliches) like no other animal in the American consciousness, from werewolves (both scary and…uh…well, not quite sparkly) to truck stop t-shirts, and then some. Unfortunately, attraction in the symbolic value of wolves doesn’t always translate to care for the actual physical animals; I’m willing to lay odds people spend more money on wolf statues and shirts and other tchotchkes than they do donating time and/or money to nonprofits that work to preserve wilderness, or contacting their elected officials about wilderness and wildlife protections.
And because Wolf is such a popular totem, s/he’s often taken for granted. It’s gotten to the point where some people are reluctant to admit that Grey Wolf is their totem because so many others essentially choose Wolf because s/he’s “cool” (to borrow an idea from this excellent essay by Ravenari). And, bringing things back to the environmental movement, I’ve heard environmentalists stereotyped by more conservative factions as “just people who think wolves are puppies and trees need hugging”. Which can make it tough sometimes to admit either being an environmentalist or liking wolves/Wolf the totem/etc.
To be fair, there are reasons for the sparkly stereotypes. There are environmentalists who think that all you need to do is recycle your old newspapers, or who are convinced that everyone needs to get off the grid and be vegans. And there are people who claim Wolf as a totem who never go any farther than that claim, and maybe reading the entry for Wolf in Animal-Speak (not no actual books about wolves). Sometimes people grow out of it and get more critical thinking skills or depth of understanding; others simply stay put. Either way, Wolf often becomes a mere mascot for surface interpretations of pretty complex topics. But that doesn’t mean that there is no value to the Wolf = environment connection.
For example, I was reading about how wolves are not only hunters but skilled scavengers as well. Hunting is dangerous, especially when it comes to going after big game. The payoff is better in the amount of meat, but the risk of severe injury or death is significantly different between hunting a rabbit, and hunting an elk. And carrion is even less dangerous, as long as it isn’t too old and moldy. So what wolf, needing to eat out in the wild to survive, would turn down an easy meal? Yet scavenging isn’t seen as sexy in American culture, other than in certain subcultures where the DIY (do it yourself) ethic is valued. Wolves, in mainstream culture, are usually depicted as ferocious hunters taking down large game, sometimes even supposedly as lone hunters. (Anyone remember that scene in Wolf where Jack-Nicholson-the-werewolf takes down a full-grown deer all by himself–in human form?*) In popular media, scavenging is largely left to the much-maligned vultures (this maligning is largely undeserved, as I explain here).
Human scavengers get a bad rap, too. There’s a lot of pressure in this culture to buy the newest, most bestest material goods EVER. If you buy secondhand, or get things repaired, it’s assumed that it’s because you simply can’t afford anything else, poor you (literally). Yet a lot of the people who apply the Reuse portion of Reuse-Reduce-Recycle to their everyday lives are perfectly capable of buying new–but choose not to. Of course, you have people who have to go that route, whether it’s only being able to buy clothing at Goodwill, or spending a lot of time dumpster diving out of sheer necessity.
So we can metaphorically equate the scavenging efforts of wolves to those of humans, as well as the attitudes toward scavenging–it’s supposed to be invisible in the powerful. At the same time, hunting, and particularly solitary hunting, is seen as the epitome of skill and worth, and so people who primarily make their living at a well-paying day job and throw their money around are seen by many as more successful or important than someone who lives more modestly within their means. The pursuit of the individual paycheck, and the hunt for the big game, is seen as superior to making use of what the “successful” have discarded.
Yet Wolf is an important symbol in all this. Wolf does both, and finds both to be nourishing. Having the skills to be able to both hunt and scavenge means more opportunities than in specializing in only one of those. In addition, scavenging carcasses is a necessary way to prevent the spread of disease, and other effects of leaving dead bodies around too long, as well as requiring fewer deaths overall; it’s good for the environment. Similarly, though for some different reasons, human scavenging and getting the most use out of secondhand resources is also good for the environment by creating less demand for new materials and reducing waste.
So there’s a good bit to be learned from Wolf in all this. Versatility, and not being afraid to do what needs to be done, regardless of what that is, are key points here. Wolf is both Hunter and Scavenger, and perhaps Wolf’s human counterparts may be able to take this lesson and apply it to real-world change.
* Okay, admittedly, Jack Nicholson made an awesome werewolf as far as I’m concerned. However, his awesomeness should not be taken as natural history by any stretch of the means.
Therioshamanism 
There you go again, making me think about new angles and also hitting (albeit) sideways on stuff happening in my own life. There’s not much more I can add to this for now save two big thumbs up.
Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Agreed, a lot of it is the whole Mighty Hunter thing. You’d figure that if people were more logical, wolves would be about communication and social interaction a lot more as archetypes – I think this was true in older cultures, where the lack of guns meant hunting big stuff wasn’t, and couldn’t be, a solitary activity, so of course they idealized Wolf as the Mighty Hunter. So I’m with you there, and…
Thing is, that archetype-wise, Wolf isn’t just The Mighty Hunter, Wolf is also the Symbol of Wilderness. This is about archetype ‘way more than the actual critter, partly because our society is so removed from the wilderness that we have this deep spiritual need for it, and can build these huge archetypes based on not really being up close and personal. The other big Symbols of Wilderness are what, bald eagles (scavengers, endangered by chemical pollution and habitat loss), mustangs (habitat loss, intentionally butchered), vaguely Lakotan people (lifestyle dismantled, jammed onto reservations, disenfranchised)? People don’t as much idealize the real survivors, the Skunks and Raccoons and Jackals and other successful hunter-scavengers, because they don’t have this mighty symbol of untampered wilderness aspect to them.
I really like your points about Wilderness. Going back to the Natural vs Artificial thing, this whole romanticization of wolves as the Wild really continues the very same dichotomy that contributed to environmental harm in the first place.
I find it interesting that the predominant image in America is of the wolf taking down the elk or whatever. The two images I find in the Old World of wolves, both in myths and histories (if there’s a difference) are that of wolves and ravens feeding on the dead after a battle (hence the associations of such war gods as Odin/Woden and the Morrigan with wolves and ravens), and that of the wolves picking of people on the edge of villages and towns. The first is definitely the image of a scavenger. The second isn’t the chase we always think of from wolves, but more of an ambush in the dark. Much different images than the American image.
The popularity of Wolf as a totem and the reluctance of people to say who really do have hir as a totem is familiar to me. I am really close to Raven, though I don’t know if totem in the way most people use the term is a good description. If I say Raven is my totem, I get knowing nods and am thought of as a trend follower, though I didn’t know Raven was so popular until years later. And my partner has been close to Wolf since she was a very young girl.
I think most people never look very deep at totems. They read about them in a book or on a website and choose something they like and use the simplistic, stereotypical description there without researching the animal, the related myths and folklore, and trying to experience and connect with the Animal. The choosing something you like is another issue, which I’ve read your opinion about before on LiveJournal (and agree with you), but whether s/he chooses you or you choose hir, stopping with a paragraph description without any research or experience doesn’t do the Animal or yourself justice.
Just my thoughts. 🙂
FFF,
~Muninn’s Kiss
The relationship Americans have with wolves is pretty unique, and that’s not including Native American cultures, either. Just the largely European-American culture has this especially antagonistic view of wolves as competitors and/or vicious animals, and I feel a good bit of it does have to do with competitive individualism. So thank you for the reminder that not everyone is the same way.
A very ironic Amen to this post. I’ve got a Goodwill list that spans the gauntlet from ice cube tray and water filter to bridesmaid dress and dress-up sandals.
It’s got a lot to do with resources, but also a lot with frugality…especially the dress, which I will wear once. I won’t spend fifteen hours working to pay for it when I’ll only wear it for three. So I’m hitting up every thrift shop between now and August. D:
Yup. After my divorce I restocked my kitchen at Goodwill. Love thrift stores to no end!
I gotta say you both are fortunate to have good thrift stores in your area(s). Around here, not quite as good.
Yeah, Portland is AWESOME for thrift shopping. People hate wasting stuff around here!
Thanks for this – I’ve recently come to terms with admitting the fact that one of my two main totems is the cougar (the other is the snake). I’ve always loved big cats, and the tiger was my favorite animal, by far, for my entire childhood (my bedroom walls were covered in tiger pictures). It breaks my heart that in just a few more years, tigers will be extinct in the wild. But nowadays, deepening my connection to my home forest, I realize that I feel much closer to the native cougar who roam the same forest.
I also am very intrigued by the fact that since I’ve started roaming the deer trails in the forest where I live, I’ve been connecting more with the deer (walking where they walk, seeing where they sleep, finding antlers) – the source of life for the cougar.
Oh, and I should mention that as I start living more primitively (the path of my inner vision), the deer will also become the main source of life for me as well.
May this be an excellent endeavor for you!
Hmm. I can see those connections between Cougar and Deer, for sure! I love the interactions between totems in people’s lives; it’s so much more than a dictionary can tell you.