257:
reservation border town that sits squarely in the Wind River Indian
Reservation and the Shoshone homeland: “Why did this happen, and will anyone care? People need to know what kind of person he was. He had qualities that we should all emulate…. He can’t have died for no reason. Something good must come. It really is hard, this hatred and misunderstanding that we call racism. It’s hard…. Riverton is in the middle of the reservation. The people who hate us have the whole rest of the world to live in. But this is our home. My grandfather negotiated for this place, so that we would have a home forever. We’re not going anywhere. If you want to live with us, and learn from us, and respect our ways, then we welcome you. We open our homes. That is our way. That has always been our way. We are a loving, welcoming people, all native people. But why come here if you hate us?”
253:
were able to control the tribes. So, if any of the young men went out and attacked settlers, then the government can come back and say, ‘Well, we are going to withhold your rations for this month.’ The whole tribe paid the price and put pressure on those young men not to attack the settlers. It was really a way of controlling the tribes. We really want to go back to the way that we were before when we were entrepreneurs and provide for ourselves,” he adds. “So, I think that process really begins with education and some of the other partnerships that the
University of Wyoming is providing to the Wind River Reservation.”
101:
serve exclusively as director of HPAIRI where he facilitates connections between researchers and the
Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho on the Wind River Indian Reservation. Trosper consults with researchers to clarify how working on tribal lands means conducting research in a manner reflective of tribal tradition and sovereignty. Trosper coordinates meetings with tribal elders and tribal leadership to approve proposed research; helps navigate data collection and dissemination in an appropriate manner; and works with tribes and researchers to address intellectual property rights and informed consent.
150:) Mountains of Montana in 1993, Trosper led his first Eastern Shoshone Sun Dance in 1994, with assistance of Yellowtail from outside the Sun Dance lodge. Yellowtail passed away the following month, having fulfilled his last promise to Trehero of passing along the Eastern Shoshone Sun Dance lineage. The two Trehero-descended Sun Dances among the Crow and the Eastern Shoshone continue to this day.
191:
Indian
Reservation, and several economic development projects. He was preceded as director of HPAIRI by Dr. Judith Antell, who launched the NEH elk project. As the director of HPAIRI Trosper works to increase American Indian enrollment, assist researchers to serve stated needs of the Wind River Indian Reservation, and promote education and economic development.
252:
Trosper advocates for education as a form of community development and economic development, which can help Tribal communities overcome what he calls a "culture of dependency" that he says resulted from federal policies: “I think that was their intention because through that cultural dependency, they
240:
Trosper has made many public statements in the media, often with a positive approach to addressing the challenges Tribal communities face. In 2006, he said of a drug bust on the Wind River Indian
Reservation: "This probably seems like a negative thing, but I think it shows everybody, especially those
173:
While serving as a university trustee, Trosper performed a cedaring ceremony at the unveiling of the "Battle of Two Hearts" sculpture of Chief
Washakie in 2005, located in front of Washakie Dining Center at the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie. Sculptor Dave McGary said, "The heart and soul of
186:
In 2017, Trosper was part of the committee that inaugurated the new Native
American Research Education and Cultural Center in Laramie, a project that had been hoped for and discussed for decades. As of 2020 Trosper served on three other committees at the University of Wyoming: UW Engagement Council,
112:
Foundation. Trosper, as Chair and
Executive Director of the Chief Washakie Foundation, helped lead the creation of this endowment, which was valued at $ 545,000 in 2018 and as of 2016 had supported 167 students with nearly $ 249,000 in scholarships. The Chief Washakie Foundation supports educational
231:
was found alone on the plains by fur trapper and trader Thomas
Fitzpatrick, who gave him the English name "Friday." The trapper took Friday to St. Louis where he was educated and became fluent in English. Friday returned to his Arapaho family at age 14, and served the Northern Arapaho as translator
145:
Trehero passed away in 1986. According to a vision
Trehero had experienced, in 1993 Tom Yellowtail conducted a blessing ceremony for James Trosper in order to pass authority for the Trehero Sun Dance for the Eastern Shoshone to Trosper. After attending a Crow Sun Dance led by Yellowtail in the Wolf
78:
Since 1993 James Trosper has been the Sun Dance Chief and Ceremonial leader of the Eastern Shoshone tribe on the Wind River Reservation. Trosper promotes spiritual healing, traditional ceremonies and a positive mindset for addressing injustices and overcoming challenges. Trosper is an active member
260:
Like his ancestor Chief Washakie, Trosper has criticized federal government policies when he felt it was warranted. In speaking about the 2019 government shutdown, he said, "My great-great-grandfather signed a treaty, and there were agreements in that treaty. We've lived up to our end of it. Chief
63:
is the current Eastern Shoshone Sun Dance chief. He is widely regarded as “a respected voice on traditional Plains Indian spirituality.” He is Director of the High Plains American Indian Research Institute. HPAIRI facilitates a wide variety of partnerships between the University of Wyoming and the
182:
In 2017, former University of Wyoming President Laurie Nichols tapped Trosper to lead a new Native American advisory committee to boost Native enrollment and expand partnerships with the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho. Trosper noted his disappointment with the departure of Nichols in 2018.
178:
was James Trosper, who was the visionary for this monument, providing his personal leadership, working with both the University of Wyoming and the Wyoming State Legislature. It was due to his dedicated efforts that the monument was purchased by the State of Wyoming and gifted to the University of
100:
In 2016 Trosper became director of the High Plains American Indian Research Institute (HPAIRI) at the University of Wyoming. In 2017 he took on a second role as director of the Native American Education, Research and Cultural Center at the University of Wyoming. He left the latter role in 2018 to
190:
Since becoming full-time director of the High Plains American Indian Research Institute in 2018, Trosper has overseen projects such as the first map of indigenous place names in Wyoming, and a National Endowment for the Humanities project investigating the cultural role of elk on the Wind River
256:
When Trosper's nephew Stallone Trosper was murdered in 2015 by a City of Riverton employee in a substance abuse treatment center, Trosper led ceremonies to bring the family together. In a public statement, he tried to make sense of the tragedy, putting it in the context of racial tensions in a
141:
Trosper is responsible for holding the Eastern Shoshone Sun Dance each August on the Wind River Indian Reservation. This duty was passed down to Trosper through genealogical lines for seven generations, and also includes receiving and caring for a medicine bundle used in the ceremony. Trosper
142:
received the leadership of the Sun Dance through the line of his great-grandfather John Trehero (sometimes spelled Truhujo), who led the ceremony for much of the 20th century and authorized a branch of the Sun Dance on the Crow Reservation in 1941 to be led by Tom Yellowtail (Crow).
244:
Trosper has spoken extensively on Eastern Shoshone spirituality and cultural traditions in Sweden, England, France, Italy, Switzerland, and many states. He discussed new ways of finding healing in a skateboarding film by Jackson Tisi called "Good Medicine" that was produced for
72:“to work together in ways that empower tribes, nurture innovation for American Indian sustainability, and demonstrate respect for Native peoples’ cultures, traditions, laws, and diverse expressions of sovereignty.”
124:
Foundation Board from 2004 to 2008. In the past he has served on the Chief Washakie Sculpture Committee that dedicated a sculpture in the United States Capitol Rotunda in 2000, the Board of Directors of the
778:
187:
Native American Affairs Advisory Council, and the Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In 2017-2018 he was part of the state of Wyoming's American Indian Education for All content review committee.
750:
534:
97:
Trosper served as director of the Northern Arapaho Department of Family Services for nine years. He also served as Director of Indian Child Welfare for the Northern Arapaho Tribe for 14 years.
220:
during the 1830s fur trade era. Washakie is quoted as saying, "I fought to keep our land, our water and our hunting grounds -- today, education is the weapon my people need to protect them."
94:
He was appointed as a member of the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees by Gov. Jim Geringer in 2002 and reappointed by Gov. Dave Freudenthal in 2007. His second term expired in 2013.
75:
Mr. Trosper grew up in a Shoshone community and in a Shoshone home upholding the traditional Shoshone ceremonial beliefs and practices. His mother is Shoshone and his father was Arapaho.
91:, and has completed coursework for Master of Arts degrees in Social Work and Counseling. As an undergraduate he served as a Senator on the Associated Students of University of Wyoming.
365:
896:
764:
1139:
249:. He has also used ceremonies to help guide new initiatives on the reservation, including a 2003 effort by the University of Utah to institute colon cancer screenings.
241:
who are involved with trafficking meth, that we don't want meth on the reservation, and we are an example of people really fighting hard to get rid of this problem."
205:
Trosper traces his ancestry to noted American Indian leaders who valued education as a means of defending tribal sovereignty during American expansion in the 1800s.
785:
227:, known as Friday. Until the late 1860s, Friday's band lived in the area of northern Colorado where the city of Fort Collins is located. In 1831 the nine-year-old
346:
A video clip from the University of Wyoming (3:44sec) on which then-Trustee Trosper discusses what would become the High Plains American Indian Research Institute
989:
197:
Trosper has appeared at many conferences and summits on topics ranging from education to water law. He was a keynote speaker at the 2019 Native Business Summit.
696:
212:
of the Eastern Shoshone, who emphasized the importance of education, and was responsible for the 1868 negotiations with the United States that created the
538:
513:
410:
736:
686:
Demitri B. Shimkin, "The Wind River Shoshone Sun Dance," Smithsonian Institution Bureau of Ethnology Bulletin 151: Anthropological Papers, No. 41
133:
Historic Preservation Commission. Trosper was appointed by Governor Sullivan to the Wyoming Indian Affairs Council and served as the Chairman.
1129:
309:
292:
910:
1017:
1095:
854:
1119:
923:
722:
33:
641:
560:
194:
Trosper helped launch a new format for the Native American Scholarship and Awards Banquet at the University of Wyoming in 2019.
113:
programs and research into the history and cultural traditions of the Shoshone and Arapaho of Central Wyoming and advocates for
497:
1053:
882:
1003:
213:
65:
261:
Washakie gave up a lot of land. My personal opinion is that the federal government needs to live up to their end of it."
836:
216:. Washakie was trilingual, speaking Shoshone, French, and English, which he learned from trapping alongside people like
514:"UW Invests Further in Wind River Reservation Research, Economic Development | News | University of Wyoming"
697:"WHILE IN WYOMING, I SAW THIS MONUMENT DEDICATED TO CHIEF WASHAKIE- WOW! "THE BATTLE OF TWO HEARTS" - Horse and Man"
611:
336:
From the publisher World Wisdom, a collection of video clips by Trosper on Native American spirituality and culture
935:
564:
121:
114:
153:
Predecessor Eastern Shoshone Sun Dance leaders going back before Trehero included John McAdams, Andrew Bresil,
810:
456:
130:
625:
341:
A Temenos Academy video (01:14:25) featuring Trosper speaking on “Symbolism of the Plains Indian Sun Dance”
335:
1124:
232:
in many 19th century negotiations with the United States alongside Chief Black Coal and Chief Sharp Nose.
69:
1134:
911:"UW Inaugurates Native American Scholarship and Awards Banquet | News | University of Wyoming"
868:
109:
88:
126:
1081:
723:"UW President Taps Native American Advisory Committee | News | University of Wyoming"
673:
470:
385:
1025:
366:
Videos of James Trosper speaking on spirituality, sacred buffalo, the eagle, and other topics.
305:
288:
626:"Indian Chief Immortalized in Capitol's Statuary Hall | Scripps Howard Foundation Wire"
645:
501:
209:
1004:"American Indian Way, an interview with Chief James Trosper | the Matheson Trust"
432:"High Plains American Indian Research Institute (HPAIRI) | University of Wyoming"
1113:
638:
568:
494:
301:
284:
274:
737:"News of Nichols Departure Disappointing to Native American Organization Director"
535:"University of Wyoming Foundation Reports and Chief Washakie Endowment Agreement"
1068:"University of Wyoming Works with Partners to Establish Arapaho Language School"
217:
1067:
1018:"Letting the Earth take care of you | Culver News: Your campus news connection"
948:
361:
Grand Opening of the UW Native American Education Research and Cultural Center
360:
355:
350:
345:
340:
356:
Washakie: Last Chief of the Eastern Shoshone, co-produced with Kyle Nicholoff
975:
751:"Rebuilding trust: UW working to found center for Native American students"
32:
321:
2003 Wyoming State Historical Society Award for Professional Documentary:
431:
246:
105:
855:"Humanities project to highlight Wyoming tribes' connections with elk"
835:
Before Wyoming: American Indian Geography and Trails (July 30, 2019).
590:
897:"Native American partnerships grow at the University of Wyoming"
1096:"Government Shutdown Impacts Native American Tribes in Wyoming"
811:"Creating Connections | UWYO | University of Wyoming"
1039:
351:
Chief Washakie Statue Unveiling: Wyoming Signatures Feature
674:"James Trosper: Biography of the Shoshone Sun Dance chief"
471:"James Trosper: Biography of the Shoshone Sun Dance chief"
386:"James Trosper: Biography of the Shoshone Sun Dance chief"
591:"Grand Teton National Park Foundation Board of Directors"
612:"Chief Washakie Statue Dedication Ceremony | C-SPAN.org"
883:"UW Initiatives to Encourage Native Student Enrollment"
223:
Trosper is also descended from Northern Arapaho leader
837:"Before Wyoming: American Indian Geography and Trails"
316:
Living in Two Worlds: The American Indian Experience,
1054:"Shoshones, cancer institute join to fight disease"
457:"UW to Offer Native Wellness Training April 23, 24"
436:
UWYO High Plains American Indian Research Institute
50:
42:
23:
661:Yellowtail: Crow Medicine Man and Sun Dance Chief.
165:), who founded the Sun Dance among the Shoshone.
711:Realism: McGary Studios Newsletter, Summer 2007.
161:). Trosper is also a descendant of Yellow Hand (
976:"Chief Friday: Fort Collins History Connection"
779:"Wyoming's American Indian Education for All"
8:
323:Washakie: Last Chief of the Eastern Shoshone
765:"Native American Center opens on UW campus"
104:He is on the Awards Committee of the Chief
87:Trosper holds a Bachelor's degree from the
949:"Experience | Native Business Summit"
411:"University of Wyoming News (Laramie, WY)"
31:
20:
1140:21st-century Native American politicians
1082:"One gunman, many concerns, in Riverton"
46:advocate of tribal rights and traditions
655:
653:
377:
271:Native Spirit and The Sun Dance Way DVD
208:Trosper is the great-great grandson of
990:"Feds: Drug ring targeted reservation"
869:"Wyoming EPSCoR: HPAIRI's Next Steps"
561:"About the Chief Washakie Foundation"
7:
965:University of Nebraska Press, 2005.
281:Native Spirit and The Sun Dance Way
79:of the Native American community.
14:
963:Washakie: Chief of the Shoshones,
325:, co-produced with Kyle Nicholoff
314:“Foreword” & Contributor to
37:Eastern Shoshone Sun Dance Chief
16:Eastern Shoshone Sun Dance chief
169:Work with University of Wyoming
709:Dave McGary, "In Retrospect,"
495:University of Wyoming Trustees
1:
663:University of Oklahoma Press.
214:Wind River Indian Reservation
66:Wind River Indian Reservation
1130:University of Wyoming alumni
120:Trosper also served on the
1156:
108:Memorial Endowment at the
639:Chief Washakie Foundation
565:Chief Washakie Foundation
265:Bibliography & Awards
122:Grand Teton National Park
115:Native American education
30:
1120:Native American leaders
129:Youth Council, and the
961:Grace Raymond Hebard,
70:Fort Washakie, Wyoming
936:IWJ Symposium Program
924:2016 Program Brochure
899:. September 17, 2019.
571:on September 27, 2013
110:University of Wyoming
89:University of Wyoming
1070:. November 12, 2019.
1028:on October 27, 2020.
659:Michael Fitzgerald,
176:Battle of Two Hearts
1042:. January 25, 2019.
1006:. October 22, 2013.
791:on December 5, 2018
699:. January 17, 2018.
541:on January 30, 2020
475:www.worldwisdom.com
390:www.worldwisdom.com
857:. August 12, 2017.
841:www.wyohistory.org
644:2013-09-27 at the
500:2010-08-27 at the
318:by Charles Eastman
236:Public Appearances
885:. March 25, 2017.
753:. March 30, 2017.
459:. April 20, 2018.
310:978-1-933316-19-2
293:978-1-933316-27-7
58:
57:
1147:
1104:
1103:
1092:
1086:
1085:
1084:. July 28, 2015.
1078:
1072:
1071:
1064:
1058:
1057:
1056:. July 18, 2003.
1050:
1044:
1043:
1036:
1030:
1029:
1024:. Archived from
1014:
1008:
1007:
1000:
994:
993:
986:
980:
979:
972:
966:
959:
953:
952:
945:
939:
933:
927:
921:
915:
914:
907:
901:
900:
893:
887:
886:
879:
873:
872:
871:. June 14, 2017.
865:
859:
858:
851:
845:
844:
832:
826:
825:
823:
821:
807:
801:
800:
798:
796:
790:
784:. Archived from
783:
775:
769:
768:
761:
755:
754:
747:
741:
740:
733:
727:
726:
719:
713:
707:
701:
700:
693:
687:
684:
678:
677:
670:
664:
657:
648:
636:
630:
629:
628:. July 19, 1999.
622:
616:
615:
608:
602:
601:
599:
597:
587:
581:
580:
578:
576:
567:. Archived from
557:
551:
550:
548:
546:
537:. Archived from
531:
525:
524:
522:
520:
510:
504:
492:
486:
485:
483:
481:
467:
461:
460:
453:
447:
446:
444:
442:
428:
422:
421:
419:
417:
407:
401:
400:
398:
396:
382:
35:
21:
1155:
1154:
1150:
1149:
1148:
1146:
1145:
1144:
1110:
1109:
1108:
1107:
1094:
1093:
1089:
1080:
1079:
1075:
1066:
1065:
1061:
1052:
1051:
1047:
1040:"Good Medicine"
1038:
1037:
1033:
1022:news.culver.org
1016:
1015:
1011:
1002:
1001:
997:
992:. May 26, 2006.
988:
987:
983:
974:
973:
969:
960:
956:
947:
946:
942:
934:
930:
922:
918:
909:
908:
904:
895:
894:
890:
881:
880:
876:
867:
866:
862:
853:
852:
848:
834:
833:
829:
819:
817:
809:
808:
804:
794:
792:
788:
781:
777:
776:
772:
767:. October 2017.
763:
762:
758:
749:
748:
744:
735:
734:
730:
721:
720:
716:
708:
704:
695:
694:
690:
685:
681:
672:
671:
667:
658:
651:
646:Wayback Machine
637:
633:
624:
623:
619:
610:
609:
605:
595:
593:
589:
588:
584:
574:
572:
559:
558:
554:
544:
542:
533:
532:
528:
518:
516:
512:
511:
507:
502:Wayback Machine
493:
489:
479:
477:
469:
468:
464:
455:
454:
450:
440:
438:
430:
429:
425:
415:
413:
409:
408:
404:
394:
392:
384:
383:
379:
374:
332:
267:
238:
203:
171:
139:
85:
38:
26:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1153:
1151:
1143:
1142:
1137:
1132:
1127:
1122:
1112:
1111:
1106:
1105:
1087:
1073:
1059:
1045:
1031:
1009:
995:
981:
967:
954:
940:
928:
916:
902:
888:
874:
860:
846:
827:
802:
770:
756:
742:
728:
714:
702:
688:
679:
665:
649:
631:
617:
603:
582:
552:
526:
505:
487:
462:
448:
423:
402:
376:
375:
373:
370:
369:
368:
363:
358:
353:
348:
343:
338:
331:
330:External links
328:
327:
326:
319:
312:
295:
278:
266:
263:
237:
234:
210:Chief Washakie
202:
199:
170:
167:
138:
135:
131:Fremont County
84:
81:
64:tribes of the
56:
55:
52:
48:
47:
44:
40:
39:
36:
28:
27:
24:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1152:
1141:
1138:
1136:
1133:
1131:
1128:
1126:
1125:Living people
1123:
1121:
1118:
1117:
1115:
1101:
1097:
1091:
1088:
1083:
1077:
1074:
1069:
1063:
1060:
1055:
1049:
1046:
1041:
1035:
1032:
1027:
1023:
1019:
1013:
1010:
1005:
999:
996:
991:
985:
982:
977:
971:
968:
964:
958:
955:
950:
944:
941:
937:
932:
929:
925:
920:
917:
912:
906:
903:
898:
892:
889:
884:
878:
875:
870:
864:
861:
856:
850:
847:
842:
838:
831:
828:
816:
815:UWYO Magazine
812:
806:
803:
787:
780:
774:
771:
766:
760:
757:
752:
746:
743:
739:. April 2019.
738:
732:
729:
724:
718:
715:
712:
706:
703:
698:
692:
689:
683:
680:
675:
669:
666:
662:
656:
654:
650:
647:
643:
640:
635:
632:
627:
621:
618:
613:
607:
604:
592:
586:
583:
570:
566:
562:
556:
553:
540:
536:
530:
527:
515:
509:
506:
503:
499:
496:
491:
488:
476:
472:
466:
463:
458:
452:
449:
437:
433:
427:
424:
412:
406:
403:
391:
387:
381:
378:
371:
367:
364:
362:
359:
357:
354:
352:
349:
347:
344:
342:
339:
337:
334:
333:
329:
324:
320:
317:
313:
311:
307:
303:
299:
298:Indian Spirit
296:
294:
290:
286:
282:
279:
276:
272:
269:
268:
264:
262:
258:
254:
250:
248:
242:
235:
233:
230:
226:
221:
219:
215:
211:
206:
200:
198:
195:
192:
188:
184:
180:
177:
168:
166:
164:
160:
156:
151:
149:
143:
136:
134:
132:
128:
123:
118:
116:
111:
107:
102:
98:
95:
92:
90:
82:
80:
76:
73:
71:
67:
62:
61:James Trosper
53:
49:
45:
43:Occupation(s)
41:
34:
29:
25:James Trosper
22:
19:
1135:Folk healers
1099:
1090:
1076:
1062:
1048:
1034:
1026:the original
1021:
1012:
998:
984:
970:
962:
957:
943:
938:colorado.edu
931:
919:
905:
891:
877:
863:
849:
840:
830:
818:. Retrieved
814:
805:
793:. Retrieved
786:the original
773:
759:
745:
731:
717:
710:
705:
691:
682:
668:
660:
634:
620:
606:
594:. Retrieved
585:
573:. Retrieved
569:the original
555:
543:. Retrieved
539:the original
529:
517:. Retrieved
508:
490:
478:. Retrieved
474:
465:
451:
439:. Retrieved
435:
426:
414:. Retrieved
405:
393:. Retrieved
389:
380:
322:
315:
302:World Wisdom
297:
285:World Wisdom
280:
275:World Wisdom
270:
259:
255:
251:
243:
239:
228:
224:
222:
207:
204:
196:
193:
189:
185:
181:
175:
172:
162:
158:
154:
152:
147:
144:
140:
119:
103:
99:
96:
93:
86:
77:
74:
60:
59:
18:
926:wyoming.gov
795:January 22,
545:January 21,
218:Jim Bridger
157:and Bazil (
1114:Categories
820:January 5,
596:January 5,
519:January 5,
480:January 5,
441:January 5,
416:January 5,
395:January 5,
372:References
179:Wyoming."
127:Wind River
229:Warshinun
225:Warshinun
163:Ohamagwya
137:Sun Dance
83:Biography
642:Archived
575:April 5,
498:Archived
304:, 2006)
287:, 2007)
247:Facebook
201:Ancestry
106:Washakie
1100:NPR.org
277:, 2007)
148:Chetish
146:Teeth (
54:Theresa
308:
291:
155:Wuwuci
51:Spouse
789:(PDF)
782:(PDF)
159:Pa:si
822:2024
797:2020
598:2024
577:2013
547:2020
521:2024
482:2024
443:2024
418:2024
397:2024
306:ISBN
289:ISBN
174:the
68:in
1116::
1098:.
1020:.
839:.
813:.
652:^
563:.
473:.
434:.
388:.
117:.
1102:.
978:.
951:.
913:.
843:.
824:.
799:.
725:.
676:.
614:.
600:.
579:.
549:.
523:.
484:.
445:.
420:.
399:.
300:(
283:(
273:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
