The Wendigo in The Round House

The wendigo is an evil spirit who would take control over a human body during their weakest point and would be considered the evil inside one's soul. But in order for that to happen the person would have to crave and eat the flesh of others.  In some ways the wendigo is portrayed as the evil or darkness within someone's soul, and from there would become a heartless being. Though out The Round House Joe refers to Lark as the wendigo because of all the pain and evil that he has caused.

"A wendigo could cast its spirit inside of a person" (Erdrich 534).

"The only person who could kill a wendigo was someone in the blood family" (Erdrich 535).

"Nanapush saw his people starve and die out, then his mother was attacked as wendigo but the men could not kill her" (Erdrich 547).

 "It was true that there could be a wendigo-people who lost all human compunctions in hungry times and carved the flesh of others" (Erdrich 633).

"It could be argued that Lark met the definition of a wendigo, and that with no other recourse, his killing fulfilled the requirements of a very old law" (Erdirch 908). 

Wendigo