James Trosper

James Trosper is a respected voice on traditional Plains Indian spirituality. He is Medicine Man and Sun Dance chief of the Shoshone Tribe on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Fort Washakie, Wyoming. Mr. Trosper is a direct descendant of the great Eastern Shoshone chief, Washakie, and he comes from a long line of Shoshone Sun Dance chiefs that includes John Trehero, the Sun Dance chief who brought the Shoshone Sun Dance to the Crow tribe. Mr. Trosper is also part Arapaho.

Mr. Trosper has traveled throughout America, assisting in the continuation of American Indian religious traditions, and explaining the Sun Dance religion of the Plains and Indian spirituality to Indian and white audiences. He is also  deeply involved in developing and promoting programs to preserve the Shoshone language and cultural heritage.

James Trosper is a director of the Chief Washakie Foundation, and a director of the Grand Teton National Park Foundation. He holds a degree from the University of Wyoming, where he is now a Trustee of the University.

Trosper, his wife, and their two children, live in Fort Washakie.

James Trosper has contributed the following to World Wisdom projects:

• The “Foreword” in Indian Spirit (revised and enlarged edition)
• Comments in the section “Conversations With Native Elders” in Native Spirit: The Sun Dance Way (book)
• Videotaped interview in the section “Conversations With Native Elders” in Native Spirit and The Sun Dance Way (2-disc DVD set)