preview

Sacajawea Research Paper

Decent Essays

Heather Martin
Sacajawea
Sacajawea is a well-known American-Indian woman. Her expedition with explorers Lewis and Clark was extraordinary. She was born in Tendoy, Idaho around 1788. She was a member of the Lemhi Shoshone tribe. At this time, the American territory ended at the Mississippi River. One year after the Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark on an expedition that left from St. Louis, Missouri, traveling through the US Northwest, to the Pacific Ocean (History). Children in the Shoshone tribe were valued and seen as important members of the tribe. The children were educated and thought to become great individuals on day. In 1800, Sacajawea along with other Shoshone women were kidnapped by the Hidatsa tribe. Sacajawea and the other women were hauled from the Shoshone tribe in present day Idaho to the Hidatsa tribe in present day North Dakota. It was when she reached the Hidatsa village when Sacajawea was sold to a fur trader named Toussaint Charbonneau as a slave. It wasn’t until later when Sacajawea became Charbonneau’s second wife. Marriage was sacred to the Shoshone people, so despite the abuse Sacajawea stayed with Charbonneau. On February 11, 1805 Sacajawea gave birth to their son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. When Sacajawea was pregnant with Jean Baptiste, Lewis and Clark had just arrived to their …show more content…

Sacajawea and Charbonneau proved to be great assets to Lewis and Clark seeing as they could translate from Shoshone to Hidatsa and from Hidatsa to French. Sacajawea was the only woman on the journey to the Pacific Ocean. She also dove into the water when their boat capsized, and saved some papers and tools that they needed to complete the journey. Along with translating, Sacajawea also helped feed and pick berries for the men. While doing all of this, she carried her baby, Jean Baptiste, on her

Get Access