Women's History Month: Sacagawea
The
Corps of Discovery
In
1997 Congress authorized the Treasury Department to
put a new dollar coin into circulation because the
supply of Susan B. Anthony dollar coins was dwindling.
Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin stipulated
to the Dollar Coin Design Advisory Committee (DCDAC)
that the image on the new coin had to be a notable
woman whose legend withstood the test of time. In
1998 the committee recommended that Sacagawea's image
grace the front of the new coin. Who was Sacagawea,
and why does her legend live on?
|
A
Young Woman of Many Talents Waterway to the Pacific
It
was Jefferson's hope that the Corps would
discover a waterway linking the Columbia River
in the Far West and Missouri River in the
Upper Midwest, thereby providing a vital trade
route between the Mississippi River and the
Pacific Ocean.
As
the Corps discovered, this waterway didn't
exist. However, the 28-month, 8,000-mile-long
journey remains one of the most successful
explorations in history. Not only were
Lewis and Clark the first men of European
descent to explore parts of this region,
but their discoveries were instrumental
in leading to the westward expansion of
the U.S. The expedition's cost: just over
$35,000.
Sacagawea's
expertise in reading the landscape, understanding
rivers, finding food, gathering plants, and maintaining
a clear head stood out during the expedition. At one
point while the Corps was navigating a river, a sudden
storm washed numerous items overboard. Sacagawea alone
had the presence of mind to retrieve the items--including
the now-famous journals of the trip--from the water.
Remarkable
Reunion Near the
present Idaho-Montana border, Lewis expected to see
the Pacific Ocean. Instead, he faced the Rocky Mountains.
Realizing the expedition would be delayed--or doomed--without
horses to navigate the mountains, he attempted to
negotiate with a band of Shoshoni, to no avail. Lewis
then requested Sacagawea's assistance. She discovered
during the course of the negotiations that the Shoshoni
chief, Cameahwait, was her brother whom she had not
seen since they were children. With Sacagawea's skillful
help, Lewis explained his mission, received horses
from Cameahwait, and the rest is...history.
A
Notable Woman of History Upon returning
to St. Louis after the expedition ended, Sacagawea
entrusted her young son to Clark, who raised and educated
him. However, historians disagree on her fate after
leaving St. Louis. Some believe she died six or seven
years later. Others, basing their opinion on Shoshoni
oral tradition, contend Sacagawea married several
more times, had more children, and became a political
speaker and an advocate of agriculture for her people.
According to this theory, she was reunited with Jean
Baptiste, a frontiersman, and died at the age of 96.
She is buried in Wyoming. The Golden Dollar
The
coin, known as the Golden Dollar, has
a pure copper core bonded between two
layers of a special manganese alloy. Its
composition: The
U.S. Mint embarked on a massive marketing
campaign to increase awareness about the
new coin. Unlike the old dollar coin,
which was easily confused with a quarter,
the Mint anticipates a positive reaction
from the public due to the Golden Dollar's
unique color and smooth edge.
Visit
the U.S.
Mint Web site.
Sacagawea's
place in history transcends Lewis and Clark's journals
or Shoshoni oral history. With a baby strapped to
her back, this capable teenager--guide, interpreter,
negotiator--blazed a trail followed by many modern
women.
Read what modern
historians and authors have to say about Sacagawea
and her role in the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Learn more
about Sacagawea's
life. What's
in a Name? Read the
article "Sacajawea?--Sakakawea?--Sacagawea?"
that appeared in We Proceeded On, the journal
of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation.
Learn
More
Related
Resources
In late 1804
Lewis and Clark hired Toussaint Charbonneau as a guide.
It's evident from their journals that Charbonneau failed
to impress either Lewis or Clark. They did, however, recognize
the importance of Charbonneau's wife, Sacagawea, a young
Shoshoni Indian woman. They insisted that she and her
baby, Jean Baptiste, accompany the group. Not only could
Sacagawea provide invaluable help in communicating and
dealing with the Shoshoni (she spoke Shoshoni, Minitari,
and French), but her presence would make a clear statement
to the Indians that the Corps might encounter: The Corps
must not be a threat because war parties do not travel
with a woman and child.
In the summer
of 1805, Lewis wrote in his journal: "[the] Indian
woman recognizes the country and assures us that this
is the river on which her relations live...this peice
of information has cheered the sperits of the party..."
While historians
dispute much of Sacagawea's early and later years,
most agree that she was captured by the Hidatsa (a
rival tribe) when she was about 10. In all likelihood
she was sold to--or won by--Charbonneau, a French-Canadian
fur trader who lived among the Hidatsa. She became
one of his wives, and gave birth to his son, Jean
Baptiste, by the time she was in her mid-teens.
Ever since
Meriwether Lewis wrote "this stream we called Sah-ca-ger-we-ah
or bird woman's River, after our interpreter...",
there has been debate about the spelling and pronunciation
of Sacagawea's name.
