Sakagavea (Sacagawea)

ok.1780 - OK. 1844
Sakagavea (Sakadzhaveya) - Indian woman of the Shoshone tribe, who, carrying her own son, baby on her back, was thousands of miles from the Lewis and Clark expedition (1804-06) from the West to the East Coast of North America and back.
Historians still find it difficult to separate fact from folklore, which made this brave and honored in the United States women folk heroine. Date of birth are listed in various sources between 1780 and 1790 i.i. Place of birth is also defined in different ways - western Montana and eastern Idaho. She was from the tribe of Lemhi, branches of the tribe of Shoshone. It is believed that her name was shoshonskoe Boinaiv, which means "maiden grass". Around 1800, she was captured by the Hidatsa tribe and withdrawn in their village in the Upper Missouri River, in present-day North Dakota. Hidatsa, perhaps, and gave her name Sakagavea (hard "g"), which was derived from the word "bird" and "woman".
Sakagavea shoshonskaya and another girl were later sold to the French-Canadian hunter, Toussaint Charbonneau, who lived among the Indians. Following local custom, Charbonneau married both girls about in 1804. That same autumn expedition, commanded by Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Clark, arrived at the parking lot Mandan tribe, near the spot where now lies the city of Bismarck, North Dakota, to spend the winter. Lewis and Clark hired Charbonneau as an interpreter and guide, where they continue their expedition to the Pacific coast, and it was agreed that Sakagavea will also accompany them. February 11, 1805, Sakagavea father of the boy, who was named Jean-Baptiste. When the expedition left the village on April 7, Sakagavea went along with the expedition, carrying on the back of her newborn baby.
Sakagavea proved very useful for the expedition. She identified the plants, looking for edible fruits and vegetables. When during the descent of a river boat capsized, it saved the magazines, medicines, and other values that fell overboard. Upon his return, Lewis and Clark called this river Sahkagerveah ( "River of Women Birds"), in her honor. Her fortitude in the face of dangers and hardships later became a legendary.
Aug. 17 near the present Armsteda, in Montana, the expedition encountered shoshonskim tribe, headed by his brother Sakagavea Kameahvaitom. The emotional climate created by their reunion, had a beneficial effect on the negotiations concerning the horses and guides, without whom the expedition would be doomed. The presence of an Indian woman and child in the expedition helped improve the image of detachment from the Indian tribes. Clark said that "a woman in a detachment of men - a symbol of peace". Charbonneau and Sakagavea allowed researchers to find a contact with the various tribes of the plains and north-west America. Returning Sakagavea and Charbonneau remained in Mandan tribe, while the rest of the group returned to the Cent-Louis, in Missouri.
There is evidence that Sakagavea and Charbonneau traveled Cent Louis in 1809, leaving Clark in the upbringing of their son. Some sources believe that Sakagavea died shortly after this event, in 1812 at Fort Manuel in present South Dakota. Other biographers believe, however, that a woman who died at Fort Manuel was another wife of Charbonneau, and that Sakagavea, finally reunited with his native Shoshone tribe on a reservation in Wyoming and died there in 1844.

WWC Team