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John S. Harris, MA, RPA
Applied Anthropologist
HAR Role:
HAR Managing Member, Researcher
Location
(not a public-facing or public office location)
Contacts
406-207-3898
Hometown:
Recent Volunteer Activities
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Dark Sky Advocate & Nighthawk Member (Dark Sky International)
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Water Quality Monitor Community Scientist (Texas Stream Team)
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Scholarly Journal Peer Reviewer (Human Ecology)
About
Harris Anthropological Research LLC (HAR) is a veteran-owned research and consulting practice, working across three related disciplines: User Experience Research (UXR), Cultural Resource Management (CRM), and Applied Ethnobotany & Herbalism.
What holds these three practices together is not so much as subject matter as it is method and perspective. HAR reads historical context, behavioral pattern, and traditional knowledge side by side, and lets strategy follow from that reading rather than lead it. The aim is never an opaque answer, but the nuance behind the answer: why a pattern in the data matters, what a given solution might overlook before it becomes a problem, and how a decision reaches beyond the client to the wider ecological, cultural, and social ground it stands on.
This work has taken HAR to landowners and eco-ranches, small and mid-size businesses in engineering and planning, Tribal governments, public institutions, non-profits, and agencies managing cultural heritage or compliance. It has also taken HAR to businesses in food, tech, hospitality, and ecommerce looking for user experience research, and to museums, parks, and individuals seeking ethnobotanical documentation, herbal education, or personal wellness consulting.
Mission:
Harris Anthropological Research LLC (HAR) helps organizations and individuals look past the first answer to the one that actually holds up, tailored to them and easy to act on. User Experience Research (UXR), Cultural Resource Management (CRM) Research & Consulting, and Applied Ethnobotany & Herbalism don't stay in separate lanes at HAR, each one cross-pollinates the others. Every decision rests on the fuller picture rather than the first answer, catching what a solution might miss before taking root.
Values:
Authenticity
Ecology
Curiosity
Creativity
Discover the Meaning Behind the Logo
HAR's logo's abstract figure nods to ancient rock art, symbolizing HAR's deep connection to cultural heritage and human history. The abstract figure here strides, even gambols, forward into the picture but glances back and points as if to respect its origins. The abstract figure is also in the shape of the H, for "Harris" and is made by two intertwined question marks (one inverted) captures our boundless curiosity and pursuit of understanding. The flowing slash through the H symbolizes organic growth and the step-like journey I embark on, exploring the depths of human experience. The deep blue icon is reminiscent of wisdom, integrity, and depth of insight.
This visual representation embodies HAR's commitment how growth and curiosity go hand-in-hand. It’s a constant reminder of my mission. This logo is in the process of being trademarked.
In essence, is about unapologetically keeping the integrity of the original things, however quirky and inconvenient. - Methodological Transparency & Integrity: We practice open, ethical, and replicable methods that protect the integrity of both evidence and process. We oppose scholarly censorship and defend the right to document, question, and share findings without distortion, while honoring ethical and legal responsibilities around confidentiality. We let the evidence speak, even when its implications are complex, uncomfortable, or inconvenient. In practice, this looks like our documents explaining our assumptions, recognition of data gaps, decision logic, flagging limitations, and otherwise being clear about our methods. - Grounded, Iterative, Field-Informed Inquiry: Prioritize community-grounded, site-specific, and user-informed approaches that let the evidence speak for itself, whether in archaeology, UXR, or stakeholder engagement. In practice, we incorporate a variety of different avenues of evidences and ways of knowing in our assessments, analyses, and other interpretations. - Preservation of the Natural, the Historic, and the Handmade: Celebrate the original, the imperfect, and the quirky, valuing what endures over what conforms. In practice, we consider the processes and places in-between matter as much as the intended objects of study. We also seek to preserve the details of local conventions, nuances, traces, and vernacular. - Respect for Lived Experience and Diverse Epistemologies: Respect the many ways people understand the world from traditional knowledge to hands-on experience and community insight. We listen closely, portray stories with care, and let real voices shape the truth we share. In practice, this means expanding inquiry beyond the database and book, and inviting community voice, and respecting different emotional, spiritual, and relational truths.
In essence, means having the thoughtful foresight of the interdependence of cultural, environmental, and other human factors of projects. - Context Matters: Effective answers and solutions need to be attend to the caveats of circumstances of time, space, culture, behavior, and environment. In practice, this looks like creating both nuanced products and products which anticipate special uses, circumstances, or its users needs or conundrums. - Both Means & Ends Matter: It just takes a little bit of thought and conscience to care for the journey as much as the destination. We are concerned for more than the client or end-user, nothing happens in a vacuum, so we believe in taking life-centered approaches that considers what has a net good on more than the consumer but on the world. In practice, this means living up to best practices and ethical conduct, even when compliance hasn't caught up. The future will look back at us and remember the paths we took to achieve something, not just the achievement. - Long-term Well-Being Matters: We believe in doing things the right way the first time, as much as possible, but doing it right means it should be solve for tomorrow not just today. Doing it right means it should be durable, adaptive, minimize harm, maximize repair/restoration, and be based on wisdom drawn from the past to make a better future. In practice, this means we consider long-term stewardship needs, educational support, and making systems which are updatable, modular, and usable by future teams.
In essence, is the thirst to know more and see what others have overlooked, be it patterns, silences, and contradictions that reveal deeper truths. -Connecting the Dots: We look for relationships across systems, disciplines, and timelines. In practice, this means taking holistic or mixed-methods approaches and synthesizing the information until answers emerge. -Pushing Beyond the Obvious: We don’t settle for surface answers. We probe deeper to understand not just what is, but what is missing and why it matters and how it came to be. In practice, this involves tracing the history of what is known about an area or subject to find those interesting gaps. -Playing with Assumptions: We embrace tension, ambiguity, and complexity, recognizing that contradictions often reveal the most meaningful insights. In practice, we resist the siren's call of oversimplification, and challenge gray areas.
In essence, means openness to the unconventional, elegant practical innovation, and engages the interdisciplinary imagination -Openness: We welcome new ideas, challenge assumptions, and remain humbly receptive to perspectives that disrupt the expected. -Practical Innovation: We design solutions that work in the real world, adaptable, usable, and grounded in context. -Interdisciplinary Imagination: We draw from archaeology, behavioral science, systems theory, and design thinking to reframe problems and spark new ideas.
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