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Sacagawea Biography

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“Much of Sacagawea’s life is a mystery.” (“Sacagawea Biography”) Sacagawea, the daughter of the Shoshone chief, was an important member of the Shoshone tribe. “Sacagawea was a Shoshone interpreter best known for serving as a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition into the American West—and for being the only woman on the famous excursion.” (“Sacagawea Biography”) “The spelling of her name and the dates of her birth and death are subjects of dispute among historians.” (Perkins) Without history, a country cannot be created. Sacagawea not only impacted the lives of Lewis and Clark, but also the life of her husband and her children. With her intelligence and bravery, she influenced many people in her life. Many American women have influenced …show more content…

“ In 1800, when Boinaiv [Sacagawea] was about 12 years old, her band was camped at the Three Forks of the Missouri River in Montana. There they encountered some Hidatsa warriors. The warriors killed four men, four women, and a number of boys. Several girls and boys, including Boinaiv were captured and taken back to the Hidatsa village.” (Perkins) “Of the three Hidatsa villages located at the confluence of the upper Missouri and the Knife Rivers in modern-day North Dakota, the Hidatsa-proper occupied the largest, northernmost one at Menetarra. The Hidatsa regularly sent war parties as far west as the Rockies, where they battled the Shoshone and Blackfeet.” (National Geographic) After being captured by their enemy tribe, Sacagawea was sold to the French-Canadian fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau. He was born in Montreal, Canada while Canada was still under the control of the French. “In the 1790s, he worked for the North West Company, a Montreal-based fur trading enterprise, as one of their voyageurs. He trapped and traded for furs with the Indians of the upper Missouri River region, becoming familiar with their language and customs.” (Charbonneau,

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