Research Guides: Sacagawea: Biography

Sacagawea (May 1788 - December 20, 1812)

Sacajawea is the Shoshoni Indian best known for her part in the famous Corps of Discovery expedition lead by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the two men commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the land that had been acquired in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Sacajawea was not considered an official member of the group. She accompanied the expedition because her husband had been hired as a translator, but Lewis and Clark agreed that her presence would be valuable, as she was familiar with some of the territory they would be passing through and she could give them advice. They also valued her ability to speak Shoshoni as they planned to buy horses and supplies from this Indian tribe along the way. Continue . . .

Source: McGill, Sara Ann. “Sacajawea.” Sacajawea, Aug. 2017, p. 1. From Academic Search Complete database.

eBook Collection

Why Sacagawea Deserves the Day off and Other Lessons from the Lewis and Clark Trail

Resources

Historical Society: Sacagawea It is the objective of this biography to present Sacagawea’s life in a historical perspective. We aim to illustrate her accomplishments and role in the Lewis and Clark expedition based on facts. Sacagawea’s life after the expedition is not well documented however we intend to draw a clear picture of this period of her life based on historical facts and documentation and not on the idealization of her character.
Searching for Sacagawea May 14, 1805, started off auspiciously for the Lewis and Clark expedition, but by evening a gusty wind was blowing along the Missouri River, threatening disaster. At the helm of the pirogue, alas, was Toussaint Charbonneau, the French-Canadian fur trader who served as an interpreter for the expedition. Charbonneau had an unfortunate tendency to panic in a crisis, which, coupled with the fact that he couldn't swim, made him, in Lewis's estimation, "perhaps the most timid water man in the world." Lewis and Clark themselves were stranded on shore, reduced to shooting into the air in a futile attempt to attract the crew's attention. Amid all the shouting and gunshots and waves, however, there was one member of the expedition who proved calm and resourceful: Charbonneau's teenage wife, Sacagawea, the only woman in the party. Though no one seems to have instructed her to, Sacagawea reached into the water and fished out the articles that were swiftly floating away from the boat. A day and a half later, with most of these precious goods dried and repacked, Lewis realized the expedition had averted disaster. "The Indian woman," he wrote in his journal on May 16, "to whom I ascribe equal fortitude and resolution, with any person onboard at the time of the accident, caught and preserved most of the light articles which were washed overboard." The very sketchiness of our knowledge has permitted novelists, feminists, and Native American tribes with dueling claims to project what they wish upon Sacagawea, to see her as a metaphor more than a human being. There was no likeness made of Sacagawea in her lifetime, and there is nothing left that belonged to her. Lewis and Clark first met Sacagawea when she was a girl of about 17, pregnant with her first child. From the age of about 13 Sacagawea had lived with the Hidatsa Indians near the confluence of the Missouri and Knife Rivers.
The Sacagawea Mystique: Her Age, Name, Role and Final Destiny A biography of Shoshoni Indian and Lewis and Clark Expedition member Sasagawea is presented. Believed to have been the age of 17 at the outset of the expedition in 1805, Sacagawea was born a member of the intermountain Idaho Shoshoni Indians. While not employed as a guide on the expedition, she did provide specific travel route information on the expedition's journey home, served as an interpreter and helped provide the party's friendly intentions when encountering other Indians.
Sacajawea Americans continue to memorialize Sacajawea for her heroic contributions to the successful Western explorations of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in 1805-06. But historians and other authors disagree about certain biographical details, relationships between Sacajawea and her contemporaries, and historical assessments of many incidents involving Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery.
Sacagawea: NPS.gov National Park Service website with pictures, timeline and history of Sacagawea and her life.

From Films On Demand database:

Significance of Sacagawea Sacagawea, and her baby boy, signify that the expedition is not a war party. She served as living white flag of peace. Distributed by PBS Distribution.
Great Coincidence: Sacagawea Finds her Brother Clark and the rest of the expedition find Clark with the Shoshones and Sacagawea is brought in to help translate. Remarkably, the Shoshone chief, Cameahwait, turns out to be her brother. The captains name the spot Camp Fortunate. Distributed by PBS Distribution.
Sacagawea in the Bitterroot Mountains Sacagawea had known hunger previously in her life and is able to cope once again with will and determination in the Bitteroot Mountains. Distributed by PBS Distribution.
Sacagawea and Others Take Leave They arrive back at the Mandan villages. John Colter is given permission to leave the expedition and return to the Yellowstone. The captains say good-bye to Charbonneau, Sacagawea, and Baptiste. Distributed by PBS Distribution.
Sacagawea's Contribution Sacagawea shows the Corps which foods are edible. She saves critical items when a boat overturns. A National Geographic Production.