Sacagawea
By: Madison Cowger
Before we begin...
Sacagawea is a true puzzle piece in American history. In her tribe, she specialized in finding nutritious food such as Licorice, Prairie Turnips, and Wild Artichokes. Did you know that her name means BirdWoman, but it now means BoatPusher. She was also pregnant at age 15! In this article, you will learn about Sacagawea’s early life, the Lewis and Clark expedition, and what she did after the journey.
The early years...
Sacagawea was born in 1788 at Lemhi River Valley. At age 12, she was kidnapped by an enemy tribe and was held captive. Back the, the Hidatsa (the enemy tribe) loved to gamble. Sp, at age 15, she was married to French trapper, Toussaint Charbonneau, from a bet. At only age 16, on February 11, 1804, she gave birth to a son. He was named, which means Gift From God.
The expedition...
Sacagawea first met Lewis and Clark in the winter of 1804, and the expedition began on August 12, 1805. In that same year of April, one of the boats tipped over, and that boat happened to be Sacagawea’s. She not only survived, but she managed to save some supplies such as the important records and journals of Lewis and Clark! Sacagawea almost died 3 times! One, from a sickness, two, from flash flood, and three, almost drowning because of her canoe! They then later came upon an enemy tribe, but since war parties don't bring along women and children, they figured they were on a peaceful mission, and did not attack. Did you know that she gave birth during the expedition, she had a daughter named Listte, which means Oath of God.
After the journey...
After the expedition ended, Clark gave Sacagawea an offer she couldn't pass up. Clark said that he could take Jean and give him an education, and the same goes for Listte. After a while, she finally said yes. There is no later records of Listte, so some experts say she may have died in childhood, but it is the complete opposite for her older brother. Sacagawea sadly passed away on December 22, 1812.
A finale note...
Sacagawea, in my opinion, is the best woman in history! Sacagawea first started becoming famous in 1996. Then, in 2000, her face started appearing on the dollar coin. I hope you learned a lot about Sacagawea in this article.
About the Author
Vocabulary
Gamble- A large bet