Sacagawea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | May 1788 Lemhi River Valley, near present-daySalmon, Idaho, US |
| Died | December 20, 1812 or 1870, (aged 24) |
| Other names | Sakakawea, Sacajawea |
| Known for | Accompanied theLewis and Clark Expedition |
| Spouse | Toussaint Charbonneau |
| Children | At least 2, includingJean Baptiste Charbonneau |
Sacagawea (/ˌsækədʒəˈwiːə/SAK-ə-jə-WEE-ə or/səˌkɒɡəˈweɪə/sə-KOG-ə-WAY-ə;[1] also spelledSakakawea orSacajawea; Mayc. 1788 – December 20, 1812)[2][3][4] was aLemhi Shoshone orHidatsa[5] woman who, in her teens, helped theLewis and Clark Expedition in achieving their chartered mission objectives by exploring theLouisiana Territory. Sacagawea traveled with the expedition thousands of miles fromNorth Dakota to thePacific Ocean, helping to establish cultural contacts withNative American people and contributing to the expedition's knowledge ofnatural history in different regions.
TheNational American Woman Suffrage Association of the early 20th century adopted Sacagawea as a symbol of women's worth and independence, erecting several statues and plaques in her memory, and doing much to recount her accomplishments.[6]
Reliable historical information about Sacagawea is very limited.
According toToussaint Charbonneau, her husband, she was bornc. 1788 into theAgaidika ('Salmon Eater', akaLemhi Shoshone) tribe near present-daySalmon, Idaho. This is near thecontinental divide at the present-day Idaho-Montana border.[7] In 1800, when she was about 12 years old, Sacagawea and several other children were taken captive by a group ofHidatsa in a raid that resulted in the deaths of severalShoshone: four men, four women, and several boys. She was held captive at a Hidatsa village near present-dayWashburn, North Dakota.[8] She disclosed to Lewis and other expedition members that four Shoshone men and some boys were killed in the battle, and she was taken captive with other women and boys. Her captors were "Gos Vauntos Indians," which some historians attribute to the Hidatsa.
According to an alternative theory presented in the Sacagawea Project Board's 2021 bookOur Story of Eagle Woman, Sacagawea was born as a member of the Hidatsa tribe, and was possibly abducted by the Shoshone (rather than the reverse, as in Charbonneau's telling) before returning to her tribe. The authors cite a 1923 oral history told by a man who claimed to be her grandson, Bulls Eye, that was supported by contemporary elders in the tribe. The Sacagawea Project Board conducted DNA testing that they say shows a genetic link between Hidatsa descended from Cedar Woman, who was said to be Sacagawea's daughter (born after her supposed death in 1812), and French Canadians with the name Charbonneau.[5]
At about age 13, she was sold into anon-consensual marriage to Charbonneau, aQuebecoistrapper. He had also bought another young Shoshone girl, known asOtter Woman, for a wife. Charbonneau was variously reported to have purchased both girls from the Hidatsa, or to have won Sacagawea whilegambling.[8]
In 1804, theCorps of Discovery reached a Mandan village, where CaptainsMeriwether Lewis andWilliam Clark builtFort Mandan for wintering over in 1804–05. They interviewed several trappers who might be able to interpret or guide the expedition up theMissouri River in the springtime. Knowing they would need to communicate with the tribal nations who lived at theheadwaters of the Missouri River, they agreed to hireToussaint Charbonneau in early winter of 1804, who claimed to speak several Native languages, and one of his wives, who spokeShoshone. Sacagawea was pregnant with her first child at the time.
On November 4, 1804, Clark recorded in his journal:[9][a]
[A] french man by Name Chabonah, who Speaks theBig Belleylanguage visit us, he wished to hire & informed us his 2 Squars (squaws) wereSnake Indians, we engau (engaged) him to go on with us and take one of his wives to interpret theSnake language.
Charbonneau and Sacagawea moved into the expedition's fort a week later. Clark later nicknamed her "Janey."[b] Lewis observed her activities as part of his ethnographic report on Native people. She and her family traveled mostly in the co-captains' company, ate near or with them, and shared the same tent. Lewis recorded the birth ofJean Baptiste Charbonneau on February 11, 1805, noting that another of the party's interpreters administered crushedrattlesnake rattles in water to speed the delivery, which helped with the painful delivery. Clark and other members of the Corps nicknamed the boy "Pomp" or "Pompy."
In April 1805, the expedition left Fort Mandan and headed up the Missouri River inpirogues and Sacagawea carried young Jean Baptiste on her back in an Indian cradleboard.[11] While heading up the Missouri River, they had to be poled against the current and sometimes pulled by crew along the riverbanks. On May 14, 1805, Sacagawea rescued items that had fallen out of a capsized boat, including the journals and records of Lewis and Clark. The corps commanders, who praised her quick action, named theSacagawea River in her honor on May 20, 1805. By August 1805, the corps had located a Shoshone tribe and was attempting to trade for horses to cross theRocky Mountains. They used Sacagawea to interpret and discovered that the tribe's leader,Cameahwait, was her brother, though in theShoshoni language cousin and brother are the same word.[12]
Lewis recorded their reunion in his journal:[13]
Shortly after Capt. Clark arrived with the Interpreter Charbono, and the Indian woman, who proved to be a sister of the Chief Cameahwait. The meeting of those people was really affecting, particularly between Sah cah-gar-we-ah and an Indian woman, who had been taken prisoner at the same time with her, and who had afterwards escaped from theMinnetares and rejoined her nation.
And Clark in his:[14]
The Intertrepeter [sic] & Squar who were before me at Some distance danced for the joyful Sight, and She made signs to me that they were her nation ...
The Shoshone agreed to barter horses and to provide guides to lead the expedition over the Rocky Mountains. The mountain crossing took longer than expected, and the expedition's food supplies dwindled. When they descended into more temperate regions, Sacagawea helped to find and cookcamas roots to help the party members regain their strength.
As the expedition approached the mouth of theColumbia River on thePacific Coast, Sacagawea gave up her beaded belt to enable the captains to trade for a fur robe they wished to bring back to give to PresidentThomas Jefferson.
Clark's journal entry for November 20, 1805, reads:[15]
one of the Indians had on a roab made of 2 Sea Otter Skins the fur of them were more butifull than any fur I had ever Seen both Capt. Lewis & my Self endeavored to purchase the roab with different articles at length we precured it for a belt of blue beeds which the Squar—wife of our interpreter Shabono wore around her waste. [sic]
When the corps reached the Pacific Ocean, all members of the expedition—including Sacagawea and Clark's enslaved servantYork—voted on November 24 on the location for building their winter fort. In January, when awhale's carcass washed up onto the beach south ofFort Clatsop, Sacagawea insisted on her right to go see this "monstrous fish."
On the return trip, they approached theRocky Mountains in July 1806. On July 6, Clark recorded:
The Indian woman informed me that she had been in this plain frequently and knew it well. ... She said we would discover a gap in the mountains in our direction [i.e., present-dayGibbons Pass].
A week later, on July 13, 1806 Sacagawea advised Clark to cross into theYellowstone River basin at what is now known asBozeman Pass. Later, this was chosen as the optimal route for theNorthern Pacific Railway to cross thecontinental divide:
"The Indian woman who has been of great service to me as a pilot through this Country recommends a gap in the mountain[s] more South which I shall cross."[16]
While Sacagawea has been depicted as a guide for the expedition,[17][page needed] she is recorded as providing direction in only a few instances, primarily in present-day Montana. Her work as a guide revolved around her geographical insight and as an interpreter. Her work as an interpreter helped the party to negotiate with the Shoshone. But, she also had significant value to the mission simply by her presence on the journey, as having a woman and infant accompany them demonstrated the peaceful intent of the expedition. While traveling through what is nowFranklin County,Washington, in October 1805, Clark noted that "the wife of Shabono [Charbonneau] our interpreter, we find reconciles all the Indians, as to our friendly intentions a woman with a party of men is a token of peace."[18] Further he wrote that she "confirmed those people of our friendly intentions, as no woman ever accompanies a war party of Indians in this quarter" [sic].[19]
As Clark traveled downriver from Fort Mandan at the end of the journey, on board the pirogue near the Ricara Village, he wrote to Charbonneau:[20]
You have been a long time with me and conducted your Self in Such a manner as to gain my friendship, your woman who accompanied you that long dangerous and fatigueing rout to the Pacific Ocian and back diserved a greater reward for her attention and services on that rout than we had in our power to give her at the Mandans. As to your little Son (my boy Pomp) you well know my fondness of him and my anxiety to take him and raise him as my own child. ... If you are desposed to accept either of my offers to you and will bring down you Son your famn [femme, woman] Janey had best come along with you to take care of the boy untill I get him. ... Wishing you and your family great success & with anxious expectations of seeing my little danceing boy Baptiest I shall remain your Friend, William Clark. [sic]
— Clark to Charbonneau, August 20, 1806
Sacagawea was mentioned 108 times in the combined Lewis and Clark journals, often in passing as "the wife of our interpreter," "our squaw," or "the Snake woman."
Following the expedition, Charbonneau and Sacagawea spent three years among theHidatsa before accepting William Clark's invitation to settle inSt. Louis, Missouri, in 1809. They entrusted Jean-Baptiste's education to Clark, who enrolled the young man in theSaint Louis Academy boarding school.[21][page needed][22] Sacagawea gave birth to a daughter, Lizette Charbonneau, about 1812.[22] Lizette was identified as a year-old girl in adoption papers in 1813 recognizing William Clark, who also adopted her older brother that year.[23] Because Clark's papers make no later mention of Lizette, it is believed that she died in childhood.
According to Bonnie "Spirit Wind-Walker" Butterfield, historical documents suggest that Sacagawea died in 1812 of an unknown sickness.[22] For instance, a journal entry from 1811 byHenry Brackenridge, a fur trader atFort Lisa Trading Post on the Missouri River, wrote that Sacagawea and Charbonneau were living at the fort.[22] Brackenridge recorded that Sacagawea "had become sickly and longed to revisit her native country."[24] John Luttig, a Fort Lisa clerk, recorded in his journal on December 20, 1812, that "the wife of Charbonneau, a Snake Squaw [i.e.Shoshone], died ofputrid fever."[24] He said that she was "aged about 25 years. She left a fine infant girl."[22] Documents held by Clark show that Charbonneau had already entrusted their son Baptiste to Clark's care for a boarding school education, at Clark's insistence.[21][page needed][22]
In February 1813, a few months after Luttig's journal entry, 15 men were killed in a Native attack on Fort Lisa, which was then located at the mouth of theBighorn River.[24] John Luttig, as well as Sacagawea's infant daughter, were among the survivors. Charbonneau was mistakenly thought to have been killed at this time, but he apparently lived to at least age 76.[25] He had signed over formal custody of his son to William Clark in 1813.[26]
As further proof that Sacagawea died in 1812, Butterfield writes:[22]
An adoption document made in the Orphans Court Records in St. Louis, Missouri, states,[23] 'On August 11, 1813, William Clark became the guardian of Tousant Charbonneau, a boy about ten years, and Lizette Charbonneau, a girl about one year old.' For a Missouri State Court at the time, to designate a child as orphaned and to allow an adoption, both parents had to be confirmed dead in court papers.
The last recorded document referring to Sacagawea's life appears in William Clark's original notes written between 1825 and 1826.[22] He lists the names of each of the expedition members and their last known whereabouts. For Sacagawea, he writes, "Se car ja we au— Dead."[21]
While the 1812 death date has been widely accepted by historians, recent scholarship has identified significant problems with the documentary evidence. The Sacagawea Project Board's 2021 bookOur Story of Eagle Woman presents several challenges to the traditional narrative:[27]
Historian Thomas Powers, reviewing the evidence presented inOur Story of Eagle Woman, wrote that "One way or another, every future history" of Sacagawea "will have to take it into account."[30]
Sacagawea's son,Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, had an adventurous life. Known as the infant who, with his mother, accompanied the explorers to thePacific Ocean and back, he had lifelong celebrity status. At the age of 18, he was befriended by aGermanPrince,Duke Paul Wilhelm of Württemberg, who took him toEurope. There, Jean Baptiste lived for six years amongroyalty, while learning four languages and allegedly fathering a child in Germany named Anton Fries.[31]
After his infant son died, Jean Baptiste returned from Europe in 1829 to the United States. He lived after that as aWesternfrontiersman. In 1846, he was a guide for theMormon Battalion during construction of the first wagon road to South California. While in California, he was appointed as amagistrate for theMission San Luis Rey. He disliked the way Indians were treated in themissions and left to become a hotel clerk inAuburn, California, once the center ofgold rush activity.[22]
After working six years in Auburn, Jean Baptiste left in search of riches in the gold mines ofMontana. He was 61 years old, and the trip was too much for him. He became ill withpneumonia and died in a remote area nearDanner, Oregon, on May 16, 1866.[22][32]
The question of Sacagawea's burial place caught the attention of nationalsuffragists seeking voting rights for women, according to author Raymond Wilson.[33] Wilson argues that Sacagawea became a role model whom suffragists pointed to "with pride". She received even more attention in the 1930s, after publication of a history novel about her.[33]
Wilson notes:[33]
Interest in Sacajawea peaked and controversy intensified whenDr. Grace Raymond Hebard, professor of political economy at theUniversity of Wyoming in Laramie and an active supporter of theNineteenth Amendment, campaigned for federal legislation to erect an edifice honoring Sacajawea's alleged death in 1884.
An account of the expedition published in May 1919 noted that "A sculptor, Mr.Bruno Zimm, seeking a model for a statue of Sacagawea that was later erected at theLouisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, discovered a record of the pilot-woman's death in 1884 (when ninety-five years old) on the Shoshone Reservation, Wyoming, and her wind-swept grave."[34]
TheHidatsa people maintain a detailed oral tradition that Sacagawea was a member of their tribe who lived until 1869. This narrative was formally documented on Memorial Day 1923, when Bulls Eye, who claimed to be Sacagawea's grandson, gave testimony to Major A.B. Welch at Dead Grass Hall in Shell Creek Village on the Fort Berthold reservation. A group of tribal elders attended as witnesses to verify his account.[28][35]
According to Bulls Eye's testimony:
Bulls Eye stated: "We have heard about some white men who wrote about my grandmother. These white men came along here about a hundred years ago. They made a mistake... We have heard that they wrote it that she was not a Hidatsa, that she was a Shoshoni prisoner among us. But she was not a Shoshoni. She was Hidatsa."[29]
DNA testing conducted in the 21st century showed that individuals claiming descent from Sacagawea through Cedar Woman matched 74 different Charbonneaus in commercial DNA registries. Charbonneau DNA was found only in family branches that oral tradition indicated descended from Sacagawea and Toussaint Charbonneau.[29]
Additional documentary evidence supporting the Hidatsa account includes:
In 1925, Dr.Charles Eastman, aDakotaSioux physician, was hired by theBureau of Indian Affairs to locate Sacagawea's remains.[37] Eastman visited various Native American tribes to interview elders who might have known or heard of Sacagawea. He learned of a Shoshone woman at theWind River Reservation with theComanche namePorivo ('chief woman'). Some of those he interviewed said that she spoke of a long journey wherein she had helped white men, and that she had a silver Jeffersonpeace medal of the type carried by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He found a Comanche woman named Tacutine who said that Porivo was her grandmother. According to Tacutine, Porivo had married into a Comanche tribe and had a number of children, including Tacutine's father, Ticannaf. Porivo left the tribe after her husband, Jerk-Meat, was killed.[37]
According to these narratives, Porivo lived for some time atFort Bridger in Wyoming with her sons Bazil and Baptiste, who each knew several languages, including English and French. Eventually, she returned to theLemhi Shoshone at the Wind River Reservation, where she was recorded as "Bazil's mother."[37] This woman, Porivo, is believed to have died on April 9, 1884.[38] She was present for the negotiations for the 1868 treaty that created the Wind River Reservation and later helped her people transition to reservation life.
Eastman concluded that Porivo was Sacagawea.[39] In 1963, a monument to "Sacajawea of the Shoshonis" was erected atFort Washakie on the Wind River Reservation nearLander, Wyoming, on the basis of this claim.[40]
The belief that Sacagawea lived to old age and died in Wyoming was widely disseminated in the United States throughSacajawea (1933), a biography written by Grace Raymond Hebard, based on her 30 years of research.[41]
Mickelson recounts the findings of Thomas H. Johnson, who argues in hisAlso Called Sacajawea: Chief Woman's Stolen Identity (2007) that Hebard identified the wrong woman when she relied upon oral history that an old woman who died and is buried on the Wyoming Wind River Reservation was Sacajawea. Critics have also questioned Hebard's work[41] because she portrayed Sacajawea in a manner described as "undeniably long on romance and short on hard evidence, suffering from a sentimentalization of Indian culture."[42]
The name is acompound of two common Hidatsanouns:cagáàga ([tsakáàka], 'bird') andmíà ([míà], 'woman'). The compound is written asCagáàgawia ('Bird Woman') in modern Hidatsaorthography, and pronounced[tsakáàkawia] (/m/ is pronounced[w] between vowels in Hidatsa). The double/aa/ in the name indicates a longvowel, while thediacritics suggest a fallingpitch pattern.
Hidatsa is a pitch-accent language that does not havestress; therefore, in the Hidatsa pronunciation all syllables in[tsaɡáàɡawia] are pronounced with roughly the same relative emphasis. However, most English speakers perceive the accented syllable (the long/aa/) as stressed. In faithful rendering ofCagáàgawia to other languages, it is advisable to emphasize the second, long syllable, rather than the/i/ syllable, as is common in English.[43]
The name has several spelling traditions in English. The origin of each tradition is described in the following sections.
The spellingSacajawea (/ˌsækədʒəˈwiːə/) is said to have derived fromShoshoneSaca-tzaw-meah, meaning 'boat puller' or 'boat launcher'.[10] In contrast to the Hidatsa etymology more popular among academics, Sacajawea is the preferred spelling used by her own tribe, theLemhi Shoshone people, some of whom claim that her Hidatsa captors transliterated her Shoshone name in their own language and pronounced it according to their own dialect.[44] That is, they heard a name that approximatedtsakaka andwia, and interpreted it as 'bird woman', substituting their hard "g/k" pronunciation for the softer "tz/j" sound that did not exist in the Hidatsa language.[44]
The use of this spelling almost certainly originated withNicholas Biddle, who used the "j" when he annotated the journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition for publication in 1814. This use became more widespread with the publication in 1902 ofEva Emery Dye's novelThe Conquest: The True Story of Lewis and Clark. It is likely that Dye used Biddle's secondary source for the spelling, and her highly popular book made this version ubiquitous throughout the United States (previously most non-scholars had never even heard of Sacagawea).[45]
Rozina George, great-great-great-great-granddaughter ofCameahwait, says the Agaidika tribe of Lemhi Shoshone do not recognize the spelling or pronunciationSacagawea. Schools named in the interpreter's honor and other memorials erected in the area surrounding her birthplace use the spellingSacajawea:[46]
The Lemhi Shoshone call her Sacajawea. It is derived from the Shoshone word for her name, Saca tzah we yaa. In his Cash Book, William Clark spells Sacajawea with a "J". Also, William Clark and Private George Shannon explained to Nicholas Biddle (Published the first Lewis and Clark Journals in 1814) about the pronunciation of her name and how the tz sounds more like a "j". What better authority on the pronunciation of her name than Clark and Shannon who traveled with her and constantly heard the pronunciation of her name? We do not believe it is a Minnetaree (Hidatsa) word for her name. Sacajawea was a Lemhi Shoshone not a Hidatsa.
The Lemhi Shoshone translate her name to mean "a burden" or "one who carries a hevy burden." Idaho native John Rees explored the 'boat launcher' etymology in a long letter to theU.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs written in the 1920s.[10] It was republished in 1970 by the Lemhi County Historical Society as a pamphlet entitled "Madame Charbonneau" and contains many of the arguments in favor of the Shoshone derivation of the name.[44][10]
The spellingSacajawea, although widely taught until the late 20th century, is considered incorrect by modern academia.Linguistics professor Dr. Sven Liljeblad fromIdaho State University inPocatello argues that "it is unlikely that Sacajawea is a Shoshoni word.… The term for 'boat' in Shoshoni is saiki, but the rest of the alleged compound would be incomprehensible to a native speaker of Shoshoni."[10] The spelling with a “j” has subsided from general use, although the corresponding "soft j" pronunciation persists.
Sacagawea is the most widely used spelling of her name, usually pronounced with a hard "g" sound (/səˌkɑːɡəˈwiːə/), occasionally with a soft "g" or "j" sound (/ˌsækədʒəˈwiːə/). Lewis and Clark's original journals mention Sacagawea by name seventeen times, spelled eight different ways, all with a "g". Clark usedSahkahgarwea, Sahcahgagwea, Sarcargahwea, andSahcahgahweah, while Lewis usedSahcahgahwea, Sahcahgarweah, Sahcargarweah, andSahcahgar Wea.
The spellingSacagawea was established in 1910 by theBureau of American Ethnology as the proper usage in government documents. It would be the spelling adopted by theU.S. Mint for use with thedollar coin, as well as theU.S. Board on Geographic Names and theNational Park Service. The spelling is also used by numerous historical scholars.[47]
Sakakawea (/səˌkɑːkəˈwiːə/) is the next most widely adopted spelling, and is the most-often accepted among specialists[who?].[48] Proponents say the name comes from theHidatsatsakáka wía ('bird woman').[49][50] Charbonneau told expedition members that his wife's name meant "Bird Woman," and in May 1805 Lewis used the Hidatsa meaning in his journal:
[A] handsome river of about fifty yards in width discharged itself into the shell river… [T]his stream we called Sah-ca-gah-we-ah or bird woman's River, after our interpreter the Snake woman.
Sakakawea is the official spelling of her name according to theThree Affiliated Tribes, which include theHidatsa. This spelling is widely used throughoutNorth Dakota (where she is considered a state heroine), notably in the naming ofLake Sakakawea, the extensive reservoir ofGarrison Dam on theMissouri River.
TheNorth Dakota State Historical Society quotes Russell Reid's 1986 bookSakakawea: The Bird Woman:[51]
Her Hidatsa name, which Charbonneau stated meant "Bird Woman," should be spelled "Tsakakawias" according to the foremost Hidatsa language authority, Dr.Washington Matthews. When this name is anglicized for easy pronunciation, it becomes Sakakawea, "Sakaka" meaning "bird" and "wea" meaning "woman." This is the spelling adopted by North Dakota. The spelling authorized for the use of federal agencies by the United States Geographic Board is Sacagawea. Although not closely following Hidatsa spelling, the pronunciation is quite similar and the Geographic Board acknowledged the name to be a Hidatsa word meaning "Bird Woman.
Irving W. Anderson, president of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, says:[10]
[T]he Sakakawea spelling similarly is not found in the Lewis and Clark journals. To the contrary, this spelling traces its origin neither through a personal connection with her nor in any primary literature of the expedition. It has been independently constructed from two Hidatsa Indian words found in the dictionaryEthnography and Philology of the Hidatsa Indians (1877), published by theGovernment Printing Office.[52] Compiled by aUnited States Army surgeon, Dr.Washington Matthews, 65 years following Sacagawea's death, the words appear verbatim in the dictionary as "tsa-ka-ka, noun; a bird," and "mia [wia, bia], noun; a woman.
Some fictional accounts speculate that Sacagawea was romantically involved with Lewis or Clark during their expedition.[which?] But, while the journals show that she was friendly with Clark and would often do favors for him, the idea of a romantic liaison was created by novelists who wrote much later about the expedition. This fiction was perpetuated in theWestern filmThe Far Horizons (1955).
Several movies, both documentaries and fiction, have been made about, or featuring, Sacagawea:[53]
Two early twentieth-century novels shaped much of the public perception of Sacagawea.The Conquest: The True Story of Lewis and Clark (1902), was written by AmericansuffragistEva Emery Dye and published in anticipation of the expedition's centennial.[54] TheNational American Woman Suffrage Association embraced her as a female hero, and numerous stories and essays about her were published in ladies' journals. A few decades later,Grace Raymond Hebard publishedSacajawea: Guide and Interpreter of Lewis and Clark (1933) to even greater success.[17]
Sacagawea has since become a popular figure in historical and young adult novels. In her novelSacajawea (1984),Anna Lee Waldo explored the story of Sacajawea's returning to Wyoming 50 years after her departure. The author was well aware of the historical research supporting an 1812 death, but she chose to explore the oral tradition.[citation needed]
The Lost Journals of Sacajewea, byDebra Magpie Earling.
The Dinner Party, an artwork installation byfeminist artistJudy Chicago, features a place setting for Sacagawea in Wing Three, part ofAmerican Revolution to the Women's Revolution.[62]
The first episode of the historypodcast,The Broadsides, includes discussion of Sacagawea and her accomplishments during theLewis and Clark Expedition.[63]
TheSacajawea Interpretive, Cultural, and Educational Center, located inSalmon, Idaho, by the rivers and mountains of Sacajawea's homeland. It contains a small museum and gift shop, in a 71-acre (290,000 m2) park. It is "owned and operated by the City of Salmon, in partnership with theBureau of Land Management,Idaho Governor's Lewis & Clark Trail Committee,Salmon-Challis National Forest,Idaho Department of Fish & Game, and numerous non-profit and volunteer organizations."[64]
Sacagawea was an important member of theLewis and Clark Expedition. TheNational American Woman Suffrage Association of the early 20th century adopted her as a symbol of women's worth and independence, erecting several statues and plaques in her memory, and doing much to spread the story of her accomplishments.[6][page needed]
In 1959, Sacagawea was inducted into theHall of Great Westerners of theNational Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.[2] In 1976, she was inducted into theNational Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame inFort Worth, Texas.[3] In 2001, she was given the title of Honorary Sergeant,Regular Army, by PresidentBill Clinton.[65] In 2003, she was inducted into theNational Women's Hall of Fame.[4]
TheUSSSacagawea is one of several United States ships named in her honor.
Every August the town ofCloverport, Kentucky, holds a festival named in her honor.[66]
In 1994,USPS released 29-cent stamp honoring Sacagawea.[67]
In 2000, theUnited States Mint issued theSacagawea dollar coin in her honor, depicting Sacagawea and her son,Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. Because no contemporary image of Sacagawea exists, the face on the coin was modeled on a modernShoshone-Bannock woman,Randy'L He-dow Teton. The portrait design is unusual, as the copyrights have been assigned to and are owned by the U.S. Mint. The portrait is not in thepublic domain, as most U.S. coin designs are.[68]
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