FT. WASHAKIE, Wyo. — Before his great-grandfather died at 114, James Trosper had learned a lot about nature and how his people stayed in tune with the spirit.
He was given the traditional "medicine bundle," containing a medicine doll, an eagle wing, a rattle, traditional plants and American Indian medicines used for prayers, ceremonies and healings. Trosper's great-grandfather told him to take care of the bundle, handed down for generations, because someday he would lead the Sundance.
And so it happened. Trosper became Sundance Chief for the Eastern Shoshone Tribe.
When outreach teams from the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah observed a growing number of deaths due to colon cancer among members of the tribe, Trosper was open to their questions and help.
The doctors asked the tribal council if they could screen and genetically test Shoshones for colon cancer.
Trosper's response, as the tribe's spiritual leader, was to call for a traditional sweat lodge ceremony.
"That was the first thing we did," Trosper explained. "We held a sweat so that we could pray about it, so we could see if it would be something that would be good for our people."
Now, for the first time, Eastern Shoshones have formed a bond with HCI's Special Populations Outreach Program. The tribe will set up and maintain its own screening and control program for colon cancer, perhaps even participating in major cancer research in years to come.
Long-held practices for treating disease sometimes clash with Western medicine. Many Shoshones still believe that which grows from the land contains significant healing recipes.
"For example, our people used to grind up the whole chokecherry with the pit still inside," Trosper said. "It's strong medicine."
Sundance leaders have long held that certain plants, found only in a particular valley, hold ingredients essential for treating specific illnesses. Trosper says perhaps something peculiar to the soil in that one location makes one plant more potent than those in the same species growing elsewhere.
But what about chemotherapy at a university miles away?
Trosper had to consider that HCI health care teams would genetically test Shoshones for colon cancer. These tests require blood samples, and according to traditional beliefs, drawing blood is like drawing the spirit from the body.
Dr. Stephen Prescott said HCI is aware and respectful of Shoshone beliefs. "This often is a very sensitive subject," he said, "and we take great care to make sure the Shoshones understand that we're coming here to Ft. Washakie to help them."
Prescott said the outreach team follows the highest ethical standards — honoring patient sensitivities, especially their privacy.
Both partners knew this effort would have to include some compromise. But that's what some on the reservation say makes Trosper such a unique spiritual leader.
While reared in the old ways and still embracing what his great-grandfather taught him, Trosper now assumes the role of Sundance Chief in new times with new challenges.
Allowing the Huntsman group to help Shoshones lower the death rate from colon cancer appears to outweigh the conflicts.
Though the rate of colon cancer in American Indians is slightly lower than other groups, more are dying from it.
"They have a higher mortality and morbidity from colon cancer than most other populations," said Dr. Randall Burt with HCI. "That's the tragedy. (It's) the very issue we want to overcome and reverse."
Trosper also believes the partnership places the Huntsman group and the Shoshones in a unique position to learn from each other.
In fact, younger doctors from the University of Utah, working with HCI, joined in some of the sweat lodge ceremonies to learn and show respect for native customs.
"I just hope the Huntsman Cancer Institute will be able to understand what we can offer," Trosper said. "I know we're open and wanting to understand and learn what they've developed. So, I think with the two things combined, we can do good things for our people."
Trosper's mother, whose great-grandfather was Chief Washakie himself, is proud of her son and her Shoshone heritage.
Zedora Enos said before the partnership could have ever happened, the spirit had to be fed. The Shoshones had to know and feel there were people outside the tribe wanting to help.
She too attended ceremonies, joining insiders and outsiders — all seeking acceptance.
"Maybe it was a prayer in a sweat lodge that we had for them and it connected," Enos said. "Everything comes to a crossroads, and if we are doing things right, it's going to meet."
E-mail: ed.yeates@ksl.com