Sacagawea: The Life and Legacy of an American Heroine

A detail of "Lewis & Clark at Three Forks", mural in lobby of Montana House of Representatives. Public Domain

It is an image known to every schoolchild: a Shoshone woman carrying a baby on her back through the wilderness. Sacagawea is probably the most memorialized woman in the history of the United States. Though mentioned only occasionally in journals by various members of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery, and usually not by name, she was crucial to the journey’s success. But she was not always recognized as playing a central role, and though this has changed, the woman behind the legend remains elusive.

Meeting Sacagawea

Statue of Sacagawea and her son, sculpted by Alice Cooper, Washington Park, Portland, Ore. EncMstr/CC BY-SA 3.0

The Lewis and Clark Expedition set out in May 1804 near present-day St. Louis, Missouri. That fall, at Fort Mandan, North Dakota, they encountered French Canadian trader Toussaint Charbonneau. He had two wives, the second of whom was pregnant.

Lewis and Clark hired Charbonneau as a translator, so his pregnant second wife tagged along on the expedition. She is mentioned several times as a “squar” (squaw) in the journals before her name—or rather, names—appear. Alternatively known as Sacajawea, Sacagawea, and Sakakawea, she was a Shoshone native from Idaho who had been abducted by the tribe’s enemies, the Hidatsa, five years previously. When she joined the expedition, she was about 17.

Sacagawea gave birth in February 1805 and would carry her baby on her back for much of the journey. As the expedition traveled up the Missouri River, her linguistic skills made her invaluable when negotiating with the Shoshone tribe. At least twice, she acted as a guide. She accompanied the group over the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, then traveled back to North Dakota. In September 1809, she went to St. Louis to have Clark educate her son.

Most Americans know Sacagawea’s story, at least its outline. But there is much more to her than this.

From Zero to Hero

According to the Sacagawea Historical Society, in the 19th century few people knew of, or cared about, Sacagawea. Then in 1902, writer Eva Emery Dye published “The Conquest: The True Story of Lewis and Clark.” In this well-researched historical novel, Dye presented Sacagawea in the role of a heroine who was largely responsible for the expedition’s success. A few excerpts from the book give a flavor of the important role Dye’s native protagonist played in events:

“All winter they had sought an interpreter for those far-away tongues beyond the mountains, and no one could be found but Sacajawea.”

“With her baby on her back, she opened the nests of prairie mice, and brought home artichokes. Sometimes she brought sprouts of wild onion for the broth, or the pomme blanche—the peppery Indian turnip.”

The popular image of Sacagawea that Dye created has persisted in the American cultural imagination for more than a century.

Sacagawea According to William Clark

"Lewis and Clark on the Lower Columbia," 1905, by Charles M. Russell. A painting of the expedition depicting Sacagawea with arms outstretched. Public Domain

As an interpreter, Sacagawea presented a friendly face to what was, at its core, a military expedition. During one tense encounter with the Nez Perce tribe, Clark wrote in 1805: “The sight of this Indian woman … confirmed those people of our friendly intentions, as no woman ever accompanies a war party.” She was undoubtedly a major reason that no one in the expedition lost their life except for quartermaster Charles Floyd, who died of a ruptured appendix.

Clark’s journal entry on May 14, 1805 records another incident in which the Shoshone woman played a critical role in the expedition’s success. On “a verry Clear Cold morning … wind Struck our Sale broad Side and turned the perogue [pirogue or boat] nearly over,” Clark wrote. He added that the boat contained “our papers, instruments, books, medicine,” and “almost every article indispensibly necessary” to the journey floated out. While Lewis and Clark watched in horror from the banks of the opposite shore, Sacagawea, who had been sitting in the rear of the boat, swam out and retrieved most of the articles. What makes this feat all the more remarkable is that she had to carry her infant to safety at the same time.

Sacagawea’s Personality

What was Sacagawea like? One account indicates that she had a warm and enthusiastic personality.

The longest entry specifically about Sacagawea was written by neither Lewis nor Clark, but by Nicholas Biddle, a young writer and lawyer, who would later come to edit the first definitive account of the expedition.

Sacagawea on the far right right holding her child in a red blanket. “Lewis and Clark Reach the Shoshone Camp Led by Sacagawea,” 1918, by Charles Marion Russell. Gilcrease Museum. Public Domain

On Aug. 17, 1805, Biddle described her dancing for joy upon rediscovering her family. Seeing some Indians “advancing on horseback,” Sacagawea began “sucking her fingers … to indicate that they were of her native tribe.” She then “embraced” a woman she knew “with the most tender affection.” Going into a tent with Lewis and Clark to act as an interpreter for the native chief, she recognized him as her brother: “She instantly jumped up, and ran and embraced him, throwing over him her blanket and weeping profusely.” After sitting back down, she “attempted to interpret for us,” but “was frequently interrupted by her tears.”

This is the only time that Sacagawea’s emotions are described.

Memorializing a Myth

According to the National Park Service, Sacagawea is “the most frequently honored woman” in the United States.

There are at least 16 statues of her scattered across the nation. The first monument, sculpted by Alice Cooper, was unveiled in 1905 in Washington Park, Portland, Oregon, as part of the centennial celebration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It is made from more than 20 tons of Oregon copper.

Another statue can be found in Sacajawea Park in Three Forks, Montana—the area where she was kidnapped as a young girl. A local hotel there that bears her name is one of our country’s more than 300 Historic Hotels of America.

Many natural landmarks are also named after her. Four are mountain peaks. Three are named Sacajawea Peak—in Oregon, Montana, and Idaho—and then Mount Sacagawea in Wyoming. Sacagawea Glacier flows near the summit of this last mountain, in the Shoshone National Forest.

Her name also graces a lake in North Dakota—which, being man-made, had no affiliation with the expedition. Another body of water, does, however: Sacagawea River, the tributary of the Musselshell River where the interpreter saved the expedition’s equipment from sinking.

Readers may also have carried the famous explorer in their pockets. In 2000, a one-dollar coin was minted that portrayed Sacagawea’s face on the front side. Riding the Metrorail system around our nation’s capital during this time, I amassed a small fortune of these, which were distributed as change from the fare card vending machines. Though this minting was discontinued in 2008, the coins are still available as collector’s items.

Sacagawea with her child depicted on the U.S. Sacagawea dollar. Vladimir Wrangel/Shutterstock

The list goes on, but space is short. The mythology that has grown up around Sacagawea is out of proportion to the scant biographical sketch there is of her life.

Even her fate following the expedition remains a mystery. One account says she died in 1812, possibly of putrid fever, which similar to typhoid fever. But an oral tradition among the Shoshone insists that she returned to her people and lived to be nearly 100.

Whichever is true, her courage embodies the spirit of discovery and maternal dedication, continuing to inspire generations of Americans.

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