Stephen McNallen
Encyclopedia
Stephen A. McNallen is an influential Germanic Neopagan
leader and writer
. Born in Breckenridge, Texas
, McNallen has been heavily involved in Ásatrú since the 1970s.
in Wichita Falls, Texas
. After receiving a degree in political science
and his officer
commission as a Second Lieutenant
in the United States Army
, McNallen went on to become an Airborne
Ranger. McNallen was stationed in Germany
for the latter part of his active service, which ended in 1976.
After his discharge from the Army, McNallen hitch-hiked
across the Sahara Desert, and worked as an adventure journalist
. In this capacity, he travelled to Northern India and Burma to report on the military conflict
s in the region, and later travelled to Africa
and Bosnia
to report on the wars in those regions in the 1990s. McNallen's articles have appeared in Soldier of Fortune magazine
, amongst others.
McNallen worked for six years as a junior high school teacher
in Nevada County, teaching science and math as well as having worked briefly as a corrections officer
in Stephens County, Texas in 1986-1987. From 1987-1996, McNallen was in the California Army National Guard
.
He married Sheila Edlund in 1997, in a ceremony officiated by Valgard Murray of the Asatru Alliance
, and currently resides in Nevada City, California
.
Germanic Paganism
in modern times. Much like Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson
founder of the Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið
, Else Christensen
of the Odinist Fellowship and Stubba of the Odinic Rite
, McNallen founded a proto-Asatru group called the Viking Brotherhood in 1972 and began publishing a small periodical called the Runestone. The Viking Brotherhood later evolved into the Asatru Free Assembly.
After some years of inactivity and restructuring, McNallen currently leads the Asatru Folk Assembly
or AFA. He has recently contributed an article entitled Three Decades of the Ásatrú Revival in America to Tyr
, a periodical espousing Radical Traditionalism
.
Kennewick Man
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is a federal law passed in 1990. It includes provisions that delineate the legal processes by which museums and Federal agencies are required to return certain Native American cultural items—human remains, gravesite materials, and other objects of cultural patrimony - to proven lineal descendants, culturally related Native American tribes, and Native Hawaiian groups. Specifically, these types of items which are found and scientifically dated to a time prior to 1492 C.E.
are to be turned over to native American tribes
. This would include any future discovery of Viking
burials, such as those from Leif Ericson
's lost colony (which is thought to be similar to L'Anse aux Meadows
).
On October 24, 1996, McNallen and the AFA filed suit in U.S. District Court in Portland (Asatru Folk Assembly v. United States) to attempt to stop the US Army Corps of Engineers from turning over the prehistoric remains of the Kennewick man to local native Americans
. Several prominent scientists and archaeologists
also filed suit, to block the reinterment
of the remains. Kennewick Man was the oldest intact human fossil ever found in the Pacific Northwest
. Genetic tests to identify ties to modern people or tribes were inconclusive due to the deteriorated condition of the remains. McNallen became embroiled in the Kennewick Man issue and appeared in Time Magazine, the The Washington Post
and on television, arguing that modern adherents of Ásatrú have more in common with the prehistoric Kennewick Man than modern native Americans. This claim, as yet, cannot be established without DNA tests on the remains.
After a protracted legal battle, the court ruled that the human remains were not "Native American" within the meaning of NAGPRA. The remains currently are curated at the Burke Museum in Seattle. As a direct result of his portrayal by the media, McNallen later stated that he no longer advocates public Ásatrú rituals or media presence at Ásatrú ceremonies.
Germanic Neopaganism
Germanic neopaganism is the contemporary revival of historical Germanic paganism. Precursor movements appeared in the early 20th century in Germany and Austria. A second wave of revival began in the early 1970s...
leader and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. Born in Breckenridge, Texas
Breckenridge, Texas
Breckenridge is a city in Stephens County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,868 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Stephens County...
, McNallen has been heavily involved in Ásatrú since the 1970s.
Life
McNallen attended Midwestern UniversityMidwestern University
Midwestern University is a graduate degree-granting institution specializing in the health sciences with eight colleges and two campuses....
in Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
. After receiving a degree in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and his officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
commission as a Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, McNallen went on to become an Airborne
Airborne forces
Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...
Ranger. McNallen was stationed in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
for the latter part of his active service, which ended in 1976.
After his discharge from the Army, McNallen hitch-hiked
Hitchhiking
Hitchhiking is a means of transportation that is gained by asking people, usually strangers, for a ride in their automobile or other road vehicle to travel a distance that may either be short or long...
across the Sahara Desert, and worked as an adventure journalist
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
. In this capacity, he travelled to Northern India and Burma to report on the military conflict
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
s in the region, and later travelled to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
to report on the wars in those regions in the 1990s. McNallen's articles have appeared in Soldier of Fortune magazine
Soldier of Fortune (magazine)
Soldier of Fortune , The Journal of Professional Adventurers, is a periodical monthly magazine devoted to world-wide reporting of wars, including conventional warfare, low-intensity warfare, counter insurgency, and counter-terrorism...
, amongst others.
McNallen worked for six years as a junior high school teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
in Nevada County, teaching science and math as well as having worked briefly as a corrections officer
Corrections
In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies and involving the punishment, treatment, and supervision of persons who have been convicted of crimes....
in Stephens County, Texas in 1986-1987. From 1987-1996, McNallen was in the California Army National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
.
He married Sheila Edlund in 1997, in a ceremony officiated by Valgard Murray of the Asatru Alliance
Ásatrú Alliance
The Asatru Alliance is a US Ásatrú group, succeeding Stephen McNallen's Asatru Free Assembly in 1987, founded by Michael J. Murray of Arizona, who is a former vice-president of Else Christensen's Odinist Fellowship. The AFA seceded into two groups, the other one being The Troth...
, and currently resides in Nevada City, California
Nevada City, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Nevada City had a population of 3,068. The population density was 1,399.7 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Nevada City was 2,837 White, 26 African American, 28 Native American, 46 Asian, 0 Pacific Islander, 40 from other races,...
.
Asatru
McNallen was one of the earliest advocates of reconstructingPolytheistic reconstructionism
Polytheistic reconstructionism is an approach to Neopaganism first emerging in the late 1960s to early 1970s, and gathering momentum in the 1990s to 2000s...
Germanic Paganism
Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples of north-western Europe from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period...
in modern times. Much like Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson
Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson
Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson , a native of Iceland, was instrumental in helping to gain recognition by the Icelandic government for the pre-Christian Norse religion...
founder of the Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið
Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið
The Ásatrúarfélagið is an Icelandic Germanic Neopagan, Ásatrú, religious organization with the purpose of promoting and continuing a revived form of Norse paganism...
, Else Christensen
Else Christensen
Else Christensen , also known as the “Folk Mother”, was a pioneering Danish figure in the emergence of Asatru and Odinism in the post-World War II era....
of the Odinist Fellowship and Stubba of the Odinic Rite
Odinic Rite
The Odinic Rite is a religious organization, practicing a form of Northern Indo European religion termed Odinism after the chief god of Norse mythology, Odin...
, McNallen founded a proto-Asatru group called the Viking Brotherhood in 1972 and began publishing a small periodical called the Runestone. The Viking Brotherhood later evolved into the Asatru Free Assembly.
After some years of inactivity and restructuring, McNallen currently leads the Asatru Folk Assembly
Asatru Folk Assembly
The Asatru Folk Assembly, or AFA, an organization of Germanic neopaganism, is the US-based Ásatrú organization founded by Stephen McNallen in 1994. Gardell classifies the AFA as folkish....
or AFA. He has recently contributed an article entitled Three Decades of the Ásatrú Revival in America to Tyr
Tyr (journal)
Tyr: Myth—Culture—Tradition is the name of an American Radical Traditionalist journal, edited by Joshua Buckley, Michael Moynihan, and Collin Cleary....
, a periodical espousing Radical Traditionalism
Radical Traditionalism
Radical Traditionalism may refer to:*a Ralph Shapey album*an ideology advocated in the Tyr journal* the 18th century movement opposing industrialisation and capitalism, see Radicalism...
.
Kennewick ManKennewick ManKennewick Man is the name for the skeletal remains of a prehistoric man found on a bank of the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington, USA, on July 28, 1996...
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is a federal law passed in 1990. It includes provisions that delineate the legal processes by which museums and Federal agencies are required to return certain Native American cultural items—human remains, gravesite materials, and other objects of cultural patrimony - to proven lineal descendants, culturally related Native American tribes, and Native Hawaiian groups. Specifically, these types of items which are found and scientifically dated to a time prior to 1492 C.E.Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
are to be turned over to native American tribes
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. This would include any future discovery of Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
burials, such as those from Leif Ericson
Leif Ericson
Leif Ericson was a Norse explorer who is regarded as the first European to land in North America , nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus...
's lost colony (which is thought to be similar to L'Anse aux Meadows
L'Anse aux Meadows
L'Anse aux Meadows is an archaeological site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Discovered in 1960, it is the only known site of a Norse or Viking village in Canada, and in North America outside of Greenland...
).
On October 24, 1996, McNallen and the AFA filed suit in U.S. District Court in Portland (Asatru Folk Assembly v. United States) to attempt to stop the US Army Corps of Engineers from turning over the prehistoric remains of the Kennewick man to local native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. Several prominent scientists and archaeologists
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
also filed suit, to block the reinterment
Burial
Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
of the remains. Kennewick Man was the oldest intact human fossil ever found in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. Genetic tests to identify ties to modern people or tribes were inconclusive due to the deteriorated condition of the remains. McNallen became embroiled in the Kennewick Man issue and appeared in Time Magazine, the The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
and on television, arguing that modern adherents of Ásatrú have more in common with the prehistoric Kennewick Man than modern native Americans. This claim, as yet, cannot be established without DNA tests on the remains.
After a protracted legal battle, the court ruled that the human remains were not "Native American" within the meaning of NAGPRA. The remains currently are curated at the Burke Museum in Seattle. As a direct result of his portrayal by the media, McNallen later stated that he no longer advocates public Ásatrú rituals or media presence at Ásatrú ceremonies.