Dancing with Wolves

Abstract

Wolves have born the burden of humankind's intense hatred of the wild in the name of civilization. Our collective projections on the wolf have brought their populations to near extinction. This paper explores our “dance” with the wolf, one that has seen an extraordinary turnabout in the past few decades. Wolf reintroduction counters the animal's extermination. Our history with the corporeal wolf is reviewed as well as the archetypal reality of the human psyche that the wolf has had to bear, which we must come to terms with in ourselves if we, the wolf, and other creatures of the wilderness are to survive.