Michael Ames was born in Vancouver and attended the University of British Columbia where he graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology in 1956. He continued his education at Harvard University, earning his Ph.D. in Social Anthropology in 1961. Ames returned to UBC as an assistant professor in 1964, rising to full professor in 1970. In addition to his work in the department, Ames also became Director of the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) in 1974. From 1974 to 1976 Ames was president of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute which was established in 1968 with funding from the Indian Government to promote Indian studies in Canada. A recipient of the Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 1970-1971, Ames was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1979 and promoted as a Fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology in 1996. Ames also has an extensive list of publications in a broad range of topics, from religion and social organizations in South Asia, First Nations issues to museums and popular culture, including the monograph Cannibal Tours & Glass Boxes: The Anthropology of Museums, published by the University of British Columbia in 1993. Ames retired from the MOA directorship at the end of June, 1997 and received emeritus professor status in 1998. From 1998 to 2002 Ames co-taught with adjunct professor Jim Green several undergraduate anthropology courses on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. He also chaired the Dean of Arts First Nations Language Programme advisory committee from 1998 to 2002, and in 2002 instituted, in cooperation with Associate Dean Margery Fee and the Musqueam Band Council, a joint "Musqueam 101" seminar at Musqueam which is loosely patterned after the Humanities 101 programme and is funded by the Provost's Office. In July 2002 Ames returned to the MOA as Acting Director for a one year, which was then extended to August 2004. Ames died in 2006.