LITR 4326 Early American Literature Research Posts 2016 (research post assignment) Research Post 2

Shanna Farmer

Sacagawea: The One Who Brought Peace

Since we have read so much about the influence white settlers had upon the Native Americans and vice versa, I wanted to focus on a Native American woman for my second research post. The two most well-known Native American women are Sacagawea and Pocahontas, but after a little research I feel like the quiet impact Sacagawea had on American history was perhaps arguably greater than that of Pocahontas. Sacagawea’s presence and knowledge of the land being explored by Lewis and Clark proved not only to be invaluable, but her and her infant’s presence might have been the difference between success and death of the men charged with exploring America to the western seaboard.

Sacagawea was born around 1788 to a Shoshone chief in Idaho and at the age of 12 was captured by Hidatsa Indians (biography.com). She was then traded to a French-Canadian trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau. In November 1804, Lewis and Clark entered the area she and her husband lived in and decided to winter there after being sent by President Thomas Jefferson to explore land bought by the US in the Louisiana Purchase (history.com).

After her husband was hired as a translator (he spoke French and Hidatsa) it was determined that they would accompany the expedition west since she spoke Shoshone and Hidatsa. Since one of the members of the expedition, Francois Labiche, spoke French as well, they determined that they would have a translation team when they came upon the Shoshone Indians. It was before they set off again in the spring that Sacagawea gave birth to a son, it was even noted in Lewis’s journal, “about five o’clock this evening one of the wives of Charbono was delivered of a fine boy.” (nps.gov)

Two months after the birth, Sacagawea and her husband set off with Lewis and Clark (nps.gov). It was she that guided the men through the plains, but perhaps her greatest asset was simply her and her infant son’s presence. Indians knew that a woman and infant did not travel in a war party; hence they were seen as a non-threat, which was important to a nearly all-white group of men traveling through native lands.  On August 12, 1805, they finally met Shoshone Indians and five days later met the chief who happened to be Sacagawea’s brother (pbs.org). It was with him she was able to trade for horses that were much needed for their trek over the mountains.

I think the impact she had made and the amount of respect she was given within their group was evident when she was allowed to vote on where the group was to camp for the winter. Her vote was counted equally (pbs.org). But at the end of the journey Sacagawea received nothing, and Charbonneau was given $500.33 and 320 acres of land. I suppose in the 1800s, since it was still uncommon for women to own property, that this might been seen as a gift to both her and her husband. However, it is easy to see how without her and her baby’s presence that the party would have faced aggression from the Indians and perhaps would have been lost. Her skills in language and land and her courage were an asset to Lewis and Clark; the one thing that made the biggest difference was her gender, which was something only she could have provided the expedition.

Works Cited

"Sacagawea." Web. 9 May 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/sacagawea-9468731>.

"Sacagwea." Web. 9 May 2016. <http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/sacagawea>.

"Sacagawea." Web. 9 May 2016. <https://www.nps.gov/lecl/learn/historyculture/sacagawea.htm>.

"Sacagawea." Lewis and Clark. Inside the Corps. Web. 9 May 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/saca.html>.