Sacagawea

This is an essay on Sacagawea working towards my American Heritage Girls Native American badge.






Sacagawea was a Shoshone native american, born in around 1790. When she was only around 12 years old, she was captured by the Hidatsa tribe. They took her to North Dakota, where she was sold to a fur trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau. She, along with another captured Shoshone girl, became his wives when Sacagawea was less than 16 years old.


Charbonneau was hired by the Lewis and Clark expedition as, in Clark’s words, “an interpreter through his wife.” She could speak Hidatsa and Shoshone, while Charbonneau could speak Hidatsa and French- and though six months pregnant, Sacagawea was vital to the expedition. She negotiated with the Shoshone tribe the expedition met to provide horses and a guide for their journey through the Rocky Mountains, and when Charbonneau nearly capsized the boat she was in, Sacagawea remained calm and retrieved several valuables from the water. During the expedition, on February 11, 1805, Sacagawea gave birth to a son, Jean Baptiste. Though only 17 years old, she braved the remainder of the expedition with her baby on her back.


On return from the expedition, Charbonneau received $409.16 and 320 acres for his services. In 1809, Sacagawea and Charbonneau traveled to Saint Lewis, where their son was baptised and then left in the care of Clark for his education. Sacagawea later gave birth to a daughter, Lisette, and is believed to have died shortly afterwards.











Resources-





Sacagawea


https://www.mrnussbaum.com/sacagawea/


https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sacagawea

http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/tchar.html