Anthropologist. Author.
Hunter. Rewilding Advocate.
James Van Lanen is an anthropologist, author, and bushcraft instructor who has spent nearly two decades with indigenous hunter-gatherers on three continents.
“This is a passionate manifesto in defense of rewilding against those who criticize it while promoting techno-industrial civilization. It is an invigorating and inspiring read.”
Human Rewilding in the 21st Century
Why Anthropologists Fail
Responding to recent critics from academia and the progressive Left who have attempted to undermine the case for rewilding and a return to our evolutionary heritage, Human Rewilding in the 21st Century draws on the author's nearly two decades of experience as a professional anthropologist working with indigenous hunter-gatherers on three continents to make the case that rewilding — both personal and political — is not only desirable but necessary in the face of civilizational overshoot and ecological catastrophe. This is not a self-help book about "reconnecting with nature." It is an unflinching look at what anthropology actually tells us about the anthropological roots of our contemporary crisis, and what we must do to begin moving away from it.
Wilderness Skills Classes
From flintknapping to hide-tanning to backcountry big game hunting — I teach specialized classes in traditional bushcraft and wilderness skills to individuals, groups, and at organized gatherings across the western USA.
View All ClassesSpeaking & Media
James is available for podcast interviews, speaking engagements, and event appearances. With nearly two decades of fieldwork with indigenous hunter-gatherers on three continents, he brings a rare combination of academic rigor and real-world experience to every conversation.
Writing
and its
ConsequencesJames M. Van Lanen
Academic publications, essays, and articles on hunter-gatherer studies, rewilding philosophy, and subsistence lifeways. From peer-reviewed research to accessible essays on living closer to the land.
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Towards a Feral Future
On Domestication, Rewilding, and Resistance
Two linked essays on the necessity of rewilding and feral resistance against human domestication and modernity. Drawing on ethnographic research, field experience, and the legacies of voluntarily isolated peoples, James M. Van Lanen argues that self-domestication is the primary barrier to resistance, and that only through rewilding can we build the self-reliance necessary to free ourselves from the totality.
Essays originally published in Black and Green Review, 2016.
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