The material gathered during her tenure as a Fulbright Fellow in anthropology (1995-96) provided the foundation from which Horses Like Lightning: A Story of Passage Through the Himalayas has been written. Sienna lived in Nepal from 1995-1998, working as a freelance writer, editor, experiential educator, trekking guide, and development consultant. Although she no longer lives in Nepal, she has continued to return to Nepal at least once a year.

While living in Nepal, Sienna met Kenneth Bauer, whom she married in 1999. In 1998-99, they founded DROKPA, a non-profit organization whose mission is to partner with pastoral communities in the Himalaya and Central Asia to implement grassroots development and catalyze social entrepreneurship. DROKPA currently funds projects in Nepal, Ladakh, India, Bhutan, and the Tibet Autonomous Region, China, in the following areas: alternative energy, education and training, community health and Tibetan medicine, and social entrepreneurship.

Sienna Craig began studies toward her Ph.D. in anthropology at Cornell University in 1999; she earned her MA in 2002 and completed her doctorate in 2006. Her dissertation, "On the Science of Healing: Efficacy and the Metamorphosis of Tibetan Medicine" explores the possibilities of defending and transforming a non-western medical and social system in the face of many changes and challenges, such as the standardization of production methods, commoditization of medicines, and the application of biomedically-oriented clinical research to the evaluation of these medicines. This work also discusses the implications of changes in Tibetan medicine on Tibet's landscape and people, illustrating some of the socio-economic, ethical, and epistemological challenges that are inherent in transforming a 'traditional medicine' for mass markets and new types of patients.

Sienna has conducted work with amchi, or Tibetan medicine practitioners, in Nepal since 1998, particularly in collaboration with the Himalayan Amchi Association. This work focuses on issues of professionalization, identity, and the intersection of health care and environmental conservation. In addition to her dissertation research, from 2002-04 Sienna has been an ethnographer and research coordinator with a National Institute of Health / Global Network for Women’s Health project based in Lhasa, Tibet.

Sienna Craig is currently an assistant professor of anthropology at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH.

Sienna has published widely in both academic and popular venues, including The Explorer’s Journal, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Shambala Sun, Studies in Nepali History and Society, and European Bulletin of Himalayan Research. Please see attached Curriculum Vitae for a complete list of publications and editorial experience.

curriculum vitae
curriculum vitae - pdf