RIVERTON - An amazing life's journey is how the story's told. It's a tale about a Catholic Shoshone from the Wind River Indian Reservation who was invited to speak at the Vatican. The story is that of Willie LeClair, who traveled to Italy in January to give the closing ceremony at the Journeys of the Spirit Festival.

"What a great honor to be asked," the 72-year-old LeClair said. "The creator said, 'Hey, guess what. You've got another adventure to go on.'"

The adventure meant taking a whirlwind, three-day trip in January with his wife, Connie, to share his spiritual background and Shoshone heritage with thousands of people from around the world.

"You're the shaman," said a festival greeter upon his arrival in Rome.

"No, I'm Willie LeClair," he said.

From around the world

The festival was the first of its kind, organized to bring people from all walks of life to the home of the Catholic Church. Interestingly, that's where the seed for the trip was planted, in a Catholic church southeast of Riverton, the St. Stephens Indian Mission. It was there LeClair came to know nursing students from Regis College in Colorado. The students had come to Wyoming Indian School in nearby Ethete to work for a few days and wanted to know more about the area's spiritual culture.

LeClair invited the group to participate in a sweat lodge ceremony, which is a prayer circle practiced traditionally by American Indians.

That was about eight or 10 years ago, said LeClair, and students from Regis have been coming annually to his sweat lodge on his ranch near Riverton ever since. It was at one of those sweats where LeClair was introduced to Awon Atuire, one of the group's supervisors. The man from Guana, Africa, was so moved by his experience, a few years later he asked LeClair if he could host a sweat for his brother to attend. The man's brother is Father Caeser Atuire, who works at the Vatican.

"Father Caeser came over from Rome to Riverton just to be able to experience a sweat lodge ceremony," LeClair said. "He brought with him a friend, his right-hand man. Neither one had any idea what the Indian culture was like."

That was in March 2007. LeClair had no idea at the time that Atuire's friend would organize the international peace festival. Then came a phone call from Atuire in November, inviting LeClari to come to the Vatican. LeClair agreed, not knowing what he'd be asked to do - give a prayer, a talk, a presentation?

LeClair was prepared for all options. He's been a speaker, storyteller and teacher of his Indian ways for nearly 30 years.

"I ended up doing a short dance, a song, and then I signed the Lord's Prayer in sign language for them," LeClair said.

The spotlight was shared with other spiritual leaders, such as Tibetan monks.

"It was really neat," he said. "They honored me and gave me gifts. I gave the monks a dance stick, a coup stick, I'd made."

Eagle feathers

It was important to LeClair that he bring traditional items of his Shoshone heritage on the trip. He couldn't have imagined how difficult that would be.

"One of the biggest bridges I had to cross was getting all the clearances to take my headdress," LeClair said of his traditional war bonnet. "I thought my regular permit for eagle feathers would work, but found out it's only good for the United States."

He applied for and acquired an import/export permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. But just when he thought he had all the required paperwork, LeClair discovered he needed one more that would take 30 days for processing. There wasn't time. He was ready to give up and take his backup headdress of imitation feathers when help arrived. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., fast-tracked the request and the documentation LeClair needed was in his hands the day before he flew to Rome.

LeClair was elated. Now the people would see him in his full authentic regalia, which includes buckskins and the eagle-feather war bonnet.

"Folks were in awe," LeClair said. "This was something they'd never seen in real life before."

Countless people wanted to have their picture taken with LeClair, he said. A television production crew filmed him on the way to the stage and aired the piece that night on Rome TV.

Fond memories

LeClair called his visit to Rome the trip of a lifetime, a spiritual walk taken with thousands of people who came together to celebrate their diversity.

About 10,000 people passed through the pavilion on Jan. 18 when he gave his closing ceremony, and 40,000 people attended the festival overall. His presentation was given in one of the 14 pavilions, or airport hangars as he described them, which were set up about 10 miles from the Vatican plaza to showcase the countries of the world.

'It was like a big trade show, with multi-cultural displays and music," he said, noting that a colorful display from India left the biggest impression.

He and his wife only made it to three pavilions because their stay in Rome only lasted about a day and half. They were able to fit in a quick tour of the city, which included cathedrals, basilicas and the Coliseum. The highlight, LeClair said, was seeing Saint Peter's Square and hearing the Pope Benedict XVI deliver his message in five different languages.

"To be in the presence of a man of that caliber was overwhelming," LeClair said, "just to feel the presence of that."

Overwhelming, too, was the realization LeClair was representing his entire country as the only speaker from the United States invited.

"What an honor and lifetime experience for a little old Indian guy like myself, who was born in Fort Washakie, to be in the presence of these people from all over the world," he said. "It was one of the greatest honors of my life."

LeClair said he accomplished his mission on his journey to Rome.

"All I wanted to do was show that we as Eastern Shoshone people are no different than anyone else," he said. "Our spirituality runs exactly the same way, and to let them know we are all of one world. We're all of one race, the human race. We've got many cultures and many colors, whether red, black, white or yellow, they come from all over the world."

He said the Journeys of the Spirit Festival was a success, evidenced by the banner they saw flying as they left the festival grounds.

"We'll See You Again in 2010."

LeClair to perform at Devils Tower this weekend

RIVERTON - Buckskin fringe and feathers fly when American Indian storyteller and dancer Willie LeClair takes the stage.

The teacher of Eastern Shoshone tribal customs is appearing this weekend at Devils Tower. He will perform at 8 p.m. today and Saturday in the ampitheater under the tower also known as Bears Lodge, a sacred site for many American Indians. No admission will be charged for the performance.

Attendees are invited sit on the benches under the tower, which rises about 1,300 feet above the Belle Fourche River, and listen to stories passed down through the ages while prairie dogs chatter and deer dart past.

"I put my buffalo robe down and lay out bead work, drums, rattles and shields, things that people like to see and have never seen before," LeClair said.

He then talks about the items on display while telling about the history, culture and dance of the Indian people of North America.

"I try to talk about things I've experienced myself," LeClair said. "You have to have lived it before you can talk about it."

He has "lived it."

LeClair is an enrolled member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Indian Reservation. He was born in Fort Washakie, the town named after the tribe's legendary chief. He's spent the majority of his adult life as a rancher, raising Texas longhorn cattle on his ranch near Riverton, and a teacher of the Indian ways.

LeClair said he walks in two worlds: American Indian and American cowboy.

He spends his summer months lecturing throughout Wyoming and surrounding states and working as a rodeo announcer. He also works part-time for the state Department of Corrections, running sweat lodge ceremonies for Wyoming prison inmates.

(Leslie Stratmoen is news director for KVOW/KTAK Radio in Riverton.)