She was born into the Lemhi Shoshone tribe in what is now Idaho, near the present-day town of Salmon. Sacagawea spoke Shoshone and Hidatsa, and Charbonneau spoke Hidatsa and French; their ability to translate multiple languages would make it easy for the expedition to trade for horses with the Shoshone in order to trek through the Rocky Mountains. 1800-1803 In 1800 Sacagawea was kidnapped by the Hidatsa tribe during a buffalo hunt.When she got to their camp,she was the only one there who spoke Shoshone,she must have been very lonely, but while she was at the Hidatsa tribe for three years she learned to speak the Hidatsa language. On April 7, Sacagawea, the baby and Charbonneau headed west with the 31 other Corps members. Did Sacagawea disappear? In 1800, the twelve year old Sacagawea was kidnapped from her Shoshone Tribe in the Rocky Mountains by the Hidata Indians. Despite traveling with a newborn child during the trek, Sacagawea proved to be helpful in many ways. In 1805, Sacagawea gave birth to her son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, while traveling with the Lewis and Clark Expedition. She wanted to see the natural wonder with her own eyes. Three years later, she was bought by Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian trapper, and made his wife. Sacagawea, with 55 day old, Jean Babtiste in her arms, accompanied the expedition in a journey that would cover 5,000 . She is brave, puts others before herself, has perseverance and determination. During the 1800s, the Hidatsa tribe kidnapped Sacagawea during a buffalo hunt in search of gold, and the Shoshone were enemies of the gun-toting Hidatsa tribe. A progressive social reformer and activist, Jane Addams was on the frontline of the settlement house movement and was the first American woman to wina Nobel Peace Prize. She met Lewis and Clark while she was living among the Mandan and Hidatsa in North Dakota, though she was a Lemhi Shoshone from Idaho.May 15, 2018. Sacagawea and her babyhelpedthose they encountered feelit was safe to befriend the newcomers. He wouldsee thatPompreceiveda good education andwouldraisePompas his own. Most of the times the Shoshones were defeated, had their possessions raided or destroyed and their members killed or kidnapped. was limited to the Idaho/Montana region where she, (rather than the entirety of the expedition), a great help during their journey. Sacagawea stayed calm and rescuedinstruments, books, gunpowder, medicines, and clothingfrom the water. When she was approximately 12 years old, Sacagawea was captured by an enemy tribe, the Hidatsa, and taken from her Lemhi Shoshone people to the Hidatsa villages near present-day Bismarck, North Dakota. She aided in the Lewis and Clark Expeditions exploration of the western United States as a guide. Sacagawea was only 25 or 26 when she died, most likely of an infection related to childbirth. Her performance as the heroine of the Lewis and Clark expedition is well known. His birth was aided by Lewis who described her labor as tedious with violent pain. Sacagawea, who was pregnant, spoke both Shoshone and Hidatsa, Charbonneau Hidatsa and French but did not speak English. . consider, but wanted to keep the baby until it nished . Sacagawea is assumed to be a Hidatsa name (Sacaga means bird and wea means woman) based on the journal entries of expedition members. Sacagawea was eager to be brought with the Lewis and Clark Expedition because she had long been at odds with the Lemhi Indians, who had long been at odds with the Hidatsa. One notable example came during the return trip, when Sacagawea suggested the group travel through Montana's Bozeman Pass, rather than the Flathead Pass, due to Bozeman being a lower, safer trip. Sacagaweacontinuedwith the Corps of Discovery and the expedition reached the Pacific Ocean on November15,1805. With the acquisition of so much land, it was necessary to determine the actual boundaries ofthecountry. Sacagawea was a part of the Shoshones Indian tribe. Thats the account recorded by a clerk at Fort Manuel [PDF], where Sacagawea was living at the time, and the one accepted by Clark and most history texts. Their winter home was at Mandan and Hidatsa lands on the November 1804 arrival of the Indians. As a translator, she was invaluable, as was her intimate knowledge of some difficult terrain. If you know anything at all about Sacagawea, you probably know that she was a guide on the Lewis and Clark Expedition (also known as the Corps of Discovery) to explore the Louisiana Purchase and Pacific Northwest, sagely leading her charges through unforgiving terrain with an almost mystical knowledge of the landscape. When Sacagawea was born in 1788, she was given the name Bazilikhe, meaning bird woman in the Hidatsa language. She had given birth to at least three children, the last one just a few months before her death. Charbonneau was born near Montreal, Canada and was an independent trader, he obtained goods on credit and traded them with the Indians. She had given birth to at least three children, the last one just a few months before her death. Reenactment Sacagawea became an invaluable member of the expedition. Photo: Edgar Samuel Paxson (Personal photograph taken at Montana State Capitol) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons, Photo: Lyn Alweis/The Denver Post via Getty Images, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Sacagawea, Birth Year: 1788, Birth State: Idaho, Birth City: Lemhi County, Birth Country: United States. The Lewis and Clark Expedition was a significant event in American history, but the contributions of Sacagawea are largely overlooked. She was born c. 1788 into the Agaidika ('Salmon Eater', aka Lemhi Shoshone) tribe near present-day Salmon, Lemhi County, Idaho.This is near the continental divide at the present-day Idaho-Montana border.. Sacagawea was born to the Shoshones, about 1788. She was skilled at finding plants for food and medicine to help keep the explorers alive. Traveling with Clark,Sacagawea guided his group south of the Yellowstone River by recommending aroutethrough theRockyMountains (known today as Bozeman Pass). When she wasapproximately 12years old, Sacagawea was captured by an enemy tribe, the Hidatsa,and taken from her Lemhi Shoshone people to the Hidatsa villages near present-dayBismarck, North Dakota. Something about Sacagawea excites the interest of several warriors during the course of this story, but she is forced to marry a sly, truculent French trapper named Charbonneau, by whom she has a son at only 14. They took her hundreds of miles away from her Shoshone home. Sacagawea helped the Corps communicate with the Shoshone, translating alongside her husband when the explorers first met them. Wiki User. Sacagawea faced the same dangers and difficulties as the rest of the expedition members, Sacagawea showed bravery and clear thinking, and Clarks praise and gratitude. Sacagawea said she would . Lewis and Clark historian James P. Ronda argued that Hebard might have misinterpreted (or neglected) some evidence to come to this conclusion. Sacagawea was born in around 1786 in Idaho or Montana as a lemhi shoshone woman. Here is where they met Toussaint Charbonneau,who lived among the Mandans. Interpreters with Lewis And Clark: The Story of Sacagawea And Toussaint Charbonneau. Her mere presence might also have been invaluable. An anonymous, premature death is at odds with Sacagawea's modern-day status as an American icon. Sacagaweas life will be celebrated over the course of three years as part of a national event. Eachmember of the Corps of Discovery was hired for a special skill such as hunting, woodworking, blacksmithing, and sailing. She demonstrated to the Native tribes that their mission was peaceful, dispelling the notion that they were about to conquer. The students will discuss diversity within the economics profession and in the federal government, and the functions of the Federal Reserve System and U. S. monetary policy, by reviewing a historic timeline and analyzing the acts of Janet Yellen. Fun Facts about Sacagawea 5: the early life. Sacagawea, which means bird woman in Hidatsa, translates as bird woman. Sacajawea could also refer to a boat launch in Shoshone. went back to the Upper Missouri River area and worked for Manuel Lisa, a Missouri Fur Company trader. At about 17 years of age, she was the only woman among 31 older men on this portion of the expedition. There is some ambiguity around, . When she was only 12 she was kidnapped along with several other girls in her tribe, by an enemy tribe. Later she was sold as a slave to Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian Fur Trader who lived among the Indians. She brought him along, carrying him in a cradleboard tied to her back. That winter, as the members of the expedition camped at Fort Mandan, the 15-year-old Sacagawea gave birth, with Capt. Death Year: 1812, Death State: South Dakota, Death City: Kenel, Death Country: United States, Article Title: Sacagawea Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/history-culture/sacagawea, Publisher: A&E; Television Networks, Last Updated: May 6, 2021, Original Published Date: April 3, 2014. Its a culturally significant question: If her name is pronounced with a soft g, its likely a Shoshone word meaning boat launcher. But if the g is hard and the spelling is closer to Sacagawea, it's probably a Hidatsa word meaning bird woman. Another important fact was that she was kidnapped by Hidatsa Indians when she was 10 or 11 years old. weaning (Abbott 54). During the expedition Clark became very fond of Jean Babtiste and offered Charbonneau and Sacagawea to give him an education and raise him as his own child. In about 1800, she was kidnapped by members of the Hidatsa tribe and taken to their homeland in the Knife River Valley, near present-day Stanton, North Dakota. When Lewis and Clark found out that he had a Shoshone wife they took interest in him as they would need their help acquiring horses once they reached the Shoshone nation. Sacagawea gave birth to her second child, a daughter named Lisette, three years later. [Sacagawea] was one of the female prisoners taken at that time; tho' I cannot discover that she shows any emotion of sorrow in recollecting this events, or of joy in being again restored to her native country; if she has enough to eat and a few trinkets to wear I believe she would be perfectly content anywhere. In addition to being the husband of Sacagawea, he is also known as the father of her three children. In 1803, theLouisiana Purchaseof western territoryfrom Franceby President Thomas Jefferson nearly doubled the size of the United States. Every March, people in the United States celebrate the achievements and history of women as part of Womens History Month. Sacagawea is a very important hero. Native American Indians did not develop a written language; oral Indian tradition holds that Sacagawea died in 1884 and is buried in Wyoming. It is true, according to Clark, that the wife of Shabono represents peace for all Indians because she represents our friendly intentions with men, and a woman with a party of men represents peace. She also served as a symbol of peace a group traveling with a woman and a child were treated with less suspicion than a group of men alone. Best Answer. In 1800, when she was about 12 years old, Sacagawea and several other girls were taken captive by a group of Hidatsa in a raid that resulted in the deaths of several Shoshone: four men, four women, and several boys. . February1. At the time, the Hidatsa and the Shoshone were enemy tribes, and Sacagawea's kidnap came as retribution for an earlier battle between the two. This answer is: Several mountains and a glacier named for her have been named after her, but many people are unaware that Mount Sacagawea is Wyomings eighth-highest peak. Toussaint Charbonneau acquired Sacagawea when she was about 11-13 years old, later he made her his wife. The Hidasta Tribe. In 1800, when Sacagawea was about 12 years old, she was kidnapped by Hidatsa Indians and taken from her homeland, near Idaho, to the Hidatsa-Mandan villages near present-day Bismarck, North Dakota. Others believe that she re-joined the shoshone after the expedition, and died in 1884. Tragically, in 1800, she was kidnapped during a buffalo hunt by the Hidatsa tribe. Reliable historical information about Sacagawea is very limited. Sacagawea. National Park Service. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson bought more than 825,000 square miles of land from France in what was called the Louisiana Purchase. Sacagawea and CharbonneaufeltPompwas too young (he wasnot yet two) but indicated they would bring him to St. Louis when he was older. She gave birth to her first child, a baby boy, on February 1, 1805. Sacagawea married Jean Baptiste in 1897 after the Expedition returned to Fort Mandan, after being allowed to stay with the Expedition members. Still, you can't tell the story of the United States without talking about Sacagawea's contributions to it, and there is plenty that we do know about her life that's just as impressive as the mythology. They were near an area where her people camped. Sakakaweas story is currently taught in schools across the country, and she is one of the most significant figures in American history. Toussaint Charbonneau (March 20, 1766 August 12, 1843) was a French-Canadian explorer, trader, and member of the Lewis and Clark expedition. 5. She was only about twelve years old. The National Park Service claims there are more statues dedicated to Sacagawea than to any other American woman. (Some of those statues are controversial for their depiction of Sacagawea, however, and at least one has been removed.) In other words, why is Sacagawea so important to the American people? Sacagawea's actual birthdate is not known. As a result, she could communicate with the Shohanies (both tribes spoke two completely different languages). Abrams is now one of the most prominent African American female politicians in the United States. They needed local guides to help them through this unknown territory. In 1800, when she was 12 years old, Hidatsa warriors raided her tribe and captured many young people, including Sacagawea. He lived among the Mandans and Hidatsas and adopted their way of life. It will be held in honor of Lewis and Clarks journey across the country. Even her name is a topic that historians still argue about. Sacagawea was a member of the Agaideka (Lemhi) Shoshone, who lived in the upper Salmon River Basin in present-day Idaho. What happened to Sacagawea? 600 aoo In 1800, an enemy tribe kidnapped Sacagawea. The story goes that she was traveling with a buffalo hunting party in the fall of 1800 when the group was attacked by members of the Hidatsa tribe. Abigail Adams was an early advocate for women's rights. Lewis and Clark resorted to Private Francois Labiche, who spoke French and English. the Shoshone tribe. Scholars think she may have been born around 1788 in Lemhi County, Idaho among the Agaidikas or Salmon-Eater Shoshones of the Lemhi Shoshone tribe. . Sacagawea was born circa 1788 in what is now the state of Idaho. Following hercapture, French-Canadian traderToussaint Charbonneau,who was living among the Hidatsa, claimed Sacagawea as one of his wives. With her her baby on her back and her husband by her side, Sacagawea and the men left Fort Mandan on April 7. Born circa 1788 (some sources say 1786 and 1787) in Lemhi County, Idaho. Another theory is that her name means boat puller, which would make sense given her role in helping Lewis and Clark navigate the rivers during their expedition. Sacagawea's actual date of birth is not known because specific birth dates were not recorded at that time. . It was through her that the expedition was able to buy horses from the Shoshone to cross the Rocky Mountains. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. The newborn was strapped to Sacagawea's back on a cradleboard. She also helped the expedition to establish friendly relations with the Native American tribes they encountered. She convinced the Shoshone to provide additional guides and horses to the expedition members. [Sacagawea] deserved a greater reward for her attention and services on that route than we had in our power to give her at the Mandans. Here are 10 facts about Sacagawea, the Native American teenager who became a famous explorer. She was taken from her Rocky Mountain homeland, located in today's Idaho, to the Hidatsa-Mandan villages near modern Bismarck, North Dakota. The bilingual Shoshone woman Sacagawea (c. 1788 - 1812) accompanied the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery expedition in 1805-06 from the northern plains through the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and back. Historical documents suggest that Sacagawea died just two years later of an unknown sickness. There, she was later sold as a slave to Toussaint Charbonneau . When a boat capsized on the Missouri River as they were crossing into what is now Montana, Sacagawea saved important books and much-needed supplies. At this point, she would have been just 16 or 17 years old. The daughter of a Shoshone chief, Sacagawea's name means "boat puller" or "bird woman" (if spelled as Sakakawea). One of his wives was pregnant, her name was Sacagawea. When some of these items floated into the water, Clark says they were nearly all caught by [Sacagawea]. Thats pretty impressive, since she was also busy keeping herself and her infant son from drowning. In 1800, when she was about 12 years old, Sacagawea was kidnapped by a war party of Hidatsa Indians -- enemies of her people, the Shoshones. Sacagawea was the face of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in the early 20th century. Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, Lisette Charbonneau, and more. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. contributions, only Sacagaweas husband ever received payment for work on the expedition. She communicated with other tribes and, , which proved to be crucial to supplementing their rations, traveling with a woman and her baby appeared less menacing, , which could be mistaken for a war party.