Sacajawea (more accurately Sacagawea), from Hidatsa (?) tsakakawia,
"Bird Woman," was an interpreter and the only woman on the
Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-0806. She was born into the Shoshoni
tribe in the Rocky Mountains. The exact date has been variously reported
as 1784 and 1788. Her Shoshoni name was Boinaiv, meaning "Grass
Maiden". The matter of an accurate rendition of the name by which
she is popularly known has long been a matter of argument. Today, an
exact translation is impossible; a more accurate meaning seems to be
"Boat Traveler," a reference to her appearance in the longboats
which were being dragged through the shallows. In an effort to indicate
the use of long oars, the tribe flapped their arms; Clark thought this
meant birds or "Bird Women", hence the name which has come
into common use.
Around the age of 12, Boinaiv was captured by some Crow warriors and
sold to the Hidatsa on the Missouri River in North Dakota. Then she
and another Native American girl were sold to a French-Canadian fur
trader, Toussaint Charbonneau, who married them both. In 1804 Lewis
and Clark hired him as a guide and interpreter for their western journey.
Charbonneau took Sacajawea and her newborn baby, Baptiste, along; she
proved to be a valuable intermediary between the explorers and the several
native tribes they encountered, particularly in view of her knowledge
of the Shoshoni language. When the expedition came to the Rockies and
her home village, she had a joyous reunion with her people, and especially
with her brother, now chief, Cameahwait, who greeted he as Wadze-wipe,
Lost Women." This relationship was particularly helpful to the
party. Although Cameahwait was initially hostile, intending to kill
the Whites for their goods, he was dissuaded by the intercession of
his sister, and eventually was willing to provide horses and supplies
to the expedition in barter. At this time, Sacajawea adopted the son
of her dead sister and named him Basil.
Sacajawea, as she was known by now (Lewis called her "Jenny"
throughout his journal) accompanied the expedition across the Rockies
and down the Columbia River to the Pacific, arriving there on November
7, 1805. Both Lewis and Clark testified to her fortitude, endurance
and serenity; Clark was especially fond of her and her son. Eventually
he transported the Charbonneau family to St. Louis in 1809 and helped
them to set up a farm. In 1811 they left their son Baptiste with Clark,
to return west with an expedition led by Manual Lisa; Clark adopted
the son as his own.
The death of Sacajawea remains one of history's great mysteries. One
account records Lissa'a clerk thusly: "This evening (December 12,
1812) the Wife of Charbonneau, a Snake Squaw, died…aged about 25
years." However, some other sources indicate that Sacajawea spent
most of her life with her own people, moving with them to the Wind River
Reservation and finally dying at Fort Washakie on April 9, 1884, aged
about 100 years. In an effort to settle the question, Commissioner Charles
H. Burke dispatched Inspector Charles A. Eastman (Ohiyesa) to locate
the burial place. In a report sent to Burke on March 2, 1925, Eastman
reported that he had interviewed many surviving people, had found the
site and felt that it was indeed the resting place of "the real
Sacajawea." However, at the present writing, the 1812 date seems
to have stronger support.
Whatever the truth, and this may never be conclusively proven, that
is no doubt that Sacajawea was a major key to the success of the Lewis
and Clark Expedition. Her role, however, has been less clearly perceived;
she was not a guide, as is often claimed. Rather, she was particularly
effective in providing help through he interpreting services with the
tribes along the way - serving, as Lewis put it, as "…the
inspiration, the genius of the occasion." She has been honored
with many plaques and monuments throughout the Western States.
Source: Great North American Indians by Frederick J. Dockstader
NATIVE
AMERICAN RHYMES 
