HARNER, MICHAEL

Arguably the most prominent figure in the introduction of practical shamanism to Westerners and its reintroduction into indigenous communities, via theFoundation forShamanic Studiesin Mill Valley, California, a nonprofit educational organization of which Harner is director and founder. Harner and colleagues offer workshop programs in “Harner Method”coreshamanism.

Harner studied shamanism as an anthropologist and shamanic practitioner among the UntusuriShuar(Jivaro) peoples of Ecuador and theConiboof the PeruvianAmazon, as well as in westernNorthAmerica, in the CanadianArctic, and inNorthern Europeamong theSaami. Having been a professor at Columbia and Yale universities, the University of California at Berkeley, and the New School for Social Research in New York, Harner has led a distinguished academic career. As an anthropologist, his publications includeThe Jivaro:People of the Sacred Waterfalls(1972) andHallucinogens andShamanism(1973). Nonetheless, Harner is best known for introducing practical shamanism to the West, inThe Way of the Shaman(1980).