Because that particular culture came out and asked people not to do that.
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Because Native Americans say so. 
Outside of twitter and a small population of western society, the world is still largely unconcerned about cultural appropriation.
I just spent a significant portion of time in Chad, Africa. It appeared the whole continent didnāt care about cultural appropriation. They were mostly concerned about HIV, clean water, and having a life expectancy of less than 50 years.
Edit: Iām also not clear how the use of āskin-walkerā is cultural appropriation dictated by Navajo preference. Itās an English word no? We arenāt talking about using the Navajo term.
Iām also Native American, Cherokee to be exact, in case that matters to you.
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And if monks, priests, shaman, and warlocks asked the same?
Then maybe there would be more controversy that Blizzard can ill afford to sustain.
I am partially native America. I donāt believe native Americans, or any other people group are a hive mind.
Itās mostly upper class, white, academics that seem to care about these things in my experience. Itās also nearly all online. For example, I donāt know a single tribal person that cared about Native American themed sports names. And they in fact disliked the names removed for various reasons.
Edit: grammar.
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On twitter for like 5 seconds.
I agree, but I also donāt particularly have a horse in this race. I think most conversations revolving around appropriations are, respectfully, ludicrous but thatās just my opinion. Especially on the topic of WoW, which is an amalgamation of references pulling from several cultures, pop culture, etc.
Like, that ship has sailed. This kind of debate usually stems from Reddit threads and Tweeter posts from what Iāve seen.
I also think some people are just inclined to be offended about everything and anything. Thatās their prerogativeā¦. Sorry, I mean thatās their right.
Iām a broke Brazilian academic, though my academic background is in mechanical engineering so it doesnāt count lol
Itās true that people who are struggling to survive day by day have other, more pressing things to worry about, but people who care about their culture donāt want to see it misused.
And then thereās empathy. I wouldnāt want it done to me, so I wouldnāt want it done to the Navajo.
More traditional Navajos generally donāt even call them Skinwalkers (or yee naaldlooshii) because of the belief that even saying their name invites them into your life to cause problems and harm you. However, the idea that the legend is ānot well understood outside the Navajo cultureā is a bit off, because there have been Navajos who have talked about the lore openly, offered cultural consultations with outsiders, and written about them in stories. Keene does good work, but sheās sometimes intentionally misleading to push her point. Either way, no, Blizzard should not use skinwalkers in the game.
Source: grew up in a Navajo household, immersed in the culture and spent many summers on the rez. The adults used to tell āscary storiesā about skinwalkers to us kids.
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Itās getting offended on someone elseās behalf that boggles my mind.
Itās the times we live in lol
You seem like a sweet person and intelligent but you do see the issue with taking offense on another people groupās behalf because you read something online as odd right? Itās nearly always an academic interest or a past time for those who have nothing better to do.
Cultural appropriation is thought by many to be a high form of praise as well. Itās a debate. I can see both sides. But the savior complex some have where they need to stand in the gaps for imagined victims is pretty much a horrible phenomenon that comes from a good motive.
Thank you for this.
Back on point: I think something like ski walkers would be pretty neat thematically. Iād like to see more Native American culture in wow because I think itās awesome and should be shared.
But I also see how āscary druidsā might fulfill that role.
Iām not taking offense on their behalf. They communicated that they donāt want Skinwalkers in pop culture. Iām just saying we should respect that.
Itās not about me being offended. Itās about people trying to run over their communicated boundaries.
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Ok. So you read something published by a select few within a tribe and now you know what Navajos want? Who is the ātheyā in that sentence?
Notwithstanding the debate on whether a culture can limit the sharing of the culture at allā¦
I mean, Iām native, I know exactly one partially Navajo very well. I can guarantee they wouldnāt care what a 20 year old video game did with their culture. That doesnāt mean I have my finger to the pulse of Navajo whims. In fact, thatās a non-starter because Navajos are individuals who donāt all share opinions.
I say bring on Native American themed spooky Druids with some drustvar and emerald nightmare. It would be awesome thematically.
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Shamans are a weird thing in WoWā¦ since you know, IRL Shamans are closer to actual Necromancers or Mediums, folks who speak to the dead and their souls, thereās SOME of this with the ancestors and spirit transformation, but itās so buried under the ELEMENTS that it just kinda makes WoW Shamanism a really weird take?
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Considering it was on several episodes of Supernatural, not to mention all of the different movies that are out thereā¦
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I ran a troll guild way back when and āusedā Hollywood voodoo and Skinwalkers as part of being a druid, it went over really well.
No but they could do something like a zone story like they did with Drustvar, or even an area of the story like what they did with duskwood and worgen.
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