(1787?-1812 or 1884)

She met Lewis & Clark near the present-day Bismarck, North Dakota. She has become a legend in part for the strength with which she faced hardships on the difficult expedition.

After several months of travel, the group was near starvation and in need of horses to help carry their heavy gear over the Rocky Mountains. It was Sacajawea who helped arrange the trade for horses with the chief of the Shoshone Indian tribe - her brother - whom she had not seen since she had been kidnapped by another Indian tribe six years earlier.

*****

Her husband, the French-born fur trader Charbonneau, had two wives. One of them died in 1812. Was it Sacajawea? We don’t know. There are rumors that there was a Shoshone woman who took the name Porivo and lived to a ripe old age of ninety-six. Could that have been Sacajawea?

The spelling of her name seems to have changed since Peter Bliss & I wrote the song about her! In 1995, the most often used spelling was with the “j” in her name. Now, the most often used spelling seems to have a “g” in her name instead. Both spellings are acceptable, as are the different ways of saying her name. You can say Sah-cah-jah-WEE-ah, Sah-cah-jah-WAY-ah, Sah-KAH-gah-WEE-ah, or Sah-KAH-gah-WAY-ah. I’ve heard historians pronounce her name using each of these four ways.

Sacajawea was the only woman traveling with Lewis, Clark and the thirty-one other men. She was the symbol of peace, as “No woman ever accompanies a war party.” – William Clark.

*****

We know about Sacajawea from journals that were kept by Lewis, Clark and a few others on the expedition. Keeping a journal is a great way to measure your growth and a great way to remember your life. I’ve been keeping a journal for thirty-seven years! My journals are among my most treasured possessions.

Links:

Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail in eleven states [http://www.nps.gov/lecl/index.htm]

Lewis & Clark National Historic Park, Astoria, OR [http://www.nps.gov/lewi/index.htm]

One view of Sacajawea [http://www.powersource.com/gallery/womansp/shoshoni.html]

PBS biography of Sacajawea [http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/sacagawea.htm]