Mike Bell

Mike Bell

Mike Bell is a retired management consultant. He lived in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and worked for 28 years with Inuit communities on Baffin Island in the High Arctic and with Dene (First Nation) communities in the Western Arctic.

Thomas Berry’s insights into indigenous cultures and shamanism were indispensable for Mike’s work in the Canadian Arctic. He first met Berry when they were both members of the Passionist monastic community.

Mike retired in 2006. He and his wife, Arlene, moved to Comox, British Columbia. Mike has MAs in theology from Ottawa University and in communications from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Baptism of Fire

Journal Article

“He was a gaunt looking character, tall and thin. He had one of those long brown greatcoats like you see the defeated German troops wearing in the films as they retreat from Stalingrad. He had a sort of pilot hat with padded ear flaps, white arctic boots, and a rucksack on his back. I could only guess at his age.”