Ashton Prillaman

Eled 3223- Teachers Brief

April 11th, 2016

Sacagawea
Introduction:
I have a question for you all. Is there a woman that you can think of that has had
an important impact on your life whether that woman be past or present? Yes, it easy to
come up with people who have played an important role in your life; however, there is
one lady that has had an impact on this country. The lady I am talking about is
Sacagawea. Have you heard of Sacagawea? This Teacher Brief is going to focus on how
she helped this country in a way that we could never repay her for.
Sacagaweas Early Life:
Lets start with the very beginning of Sacagaweas life. She was born around
1788-1789, they are not sure about the exact year, because back then they did not have
computers or anywhere to store important things like we do now. They lived off of the
land and had to make due with what they had at the time. Sacagawea was part of tribe
called the Shoshone. When she was around twelve years old, an enemy tribe called the
Hidatsa tribe kidnapped Sacagawea. She lived with the Hidatsa until she was bought and
traded for by Toussaint Charbonneau. In 1803 or 1804, through a trade, gambling
payoff or purchase, Sacagawea became the property of French-Canadian fur trader
Toussaint Charbonneau, born no later than 1767 and well over two decades her senior
(Sacagawea, n.d.). Toussaint Charbonneau ended up marrying Sacagawea. Sacagawea

was one of Charbonneaus wives. Sacagawea got pregnant and had a little boy, JeanBaptiste Charbonneau, on February 11, 1805. (Sacagawea, n.d.)
History Behind the Expedition:
The next part we will be talking about is the expedition that Sacagawea,
Charbonneau, Meriwether Lewis, and William Clark went on to explore the land that was
purchased by the president, Thomas Jefferson. Meanwhile, President Thomas Jefferson
had made the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803-828,000 square miles of almost
completely unexplored territory (Sacagawea, n.d.). What was known as Louisiana
Territory stretched from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the
west and from the Gulf of Mexico in the south to the Canadian border in the north
(Louisiana Purchase, n.d.). The purchase that Thomas Jefferson bought from the French
ended up giving us 15 more states, eventually when all the states were carved out.
Thomas Jefferson put Meriwether Lewis in charge of the whole expedition. Lewis asked
his friend, William Clark, to come along on the expedition with him. They ended
planning the trip for over a year and brought more people along on the trip, round 33
people. Lewis and Clark met Sacagawea when she was 6 months pregnant. They
convinced Sacagawea that she would be of great help to them on the expedition; she and
her husband went on the expedition just two months after Sacagawea gave birth to the
baby boy.
The Expedition:
The group started on the expedition around April, those short months after
Sacagawea gave birth. The main reason that Sacagawea was asked on the trip is because
of her past with the Shoshone as her main tribe. Remember, Sacagawea was born in the

Shoshone tribe but was later kidnapped and married into the Hidatsa. The group, which
was called the Corps of Discovery, knew that they would come into contact with the
Shoshone tribe later in the trip and need their help with horses and other supplies to
continue their expedition.
They had an interesting journey with different experiences, which resulted in
learning experiences. Sacagawea knew the land better than Lewis and Clark did. She
could tell the men what was an edible plant and what could help them with sicknesses.
Sacagawea saved many things one time when they were on a river and a boat capsized.
When a boat capsized, she was able to save some of its cargo, including important
documents and supplies (Sacagawea Biography, n.d.) If Sacagawea had let the stuff go
into the water and not save it, some of the information that they had found out about the
land and animals that they had seen so far on the expedition would have been lost. They
continued their expedition.
Near August of 1805, Sacagawea realized that they were coming closer to the
Shoshone tribe. The men knew that they would need to show the tribe that they were
good people and were not there to hurt them. With Sacagawea being there it would be
easier to show that they mean no harm, especially with Sacagaweas baby being there as
well. The expedition enters the Shoshone Indian village and discovers the Chief is
Sacagaweas brother which is very helpful to their welcoming- the expedition buys horses
and mules from the Shoshone and sets out overland on foot and horseback for the
Bitterroot Mountains (Sacagawea Native American Study Guide, n.d.). The most
exciting thing about the story is that Sacagawea was remembered from her birth tribe.
In the midst of the excitement, one of the Shoshone women recognized Sacagawea. Her

name, Jumping Fish, she had acquired on the day Sacagawea was taken prisoner, because
of the way she had jumped through a stream in escaping the Hidatsas. The reunited teens
hugged and cried and talked, all at once (Ambrose, p 277). Sacagawea was also excited
and thrilled to see her brother as well. Even though it was a little family reunion, they
still had to continue on the expedition.
On November 24, 1805, when the expedition reached the place where the
Columbia River emptied into the Pacific Ocean, the captains held a vote among all the
members to decide where to settle for the winter (Sacagawea, n.d.) The expedition
decided to stay at Fort Clatsop for the winter and then start their journey back to where
they started. The expedition finally made it back to the starting point, the Hidatsa village
on August 14, 1806.
After the Expedition:
For his service Charbonneau received 320 acres of land and $500.33; Sacagawea
received no compensation (Sacagawea, n.d.). During the time that Sacagawea was
living, women were not seen as equal to men. Even though Sacagawea was the main
person who helped the expeditions success, she was a woman and was not seen as
someone that they needed to thank and show gratitude for. Sacagawea was later seen as a
hero and now has many statues across the nation. After the expedition a couple of years
in 1809, Sacagawea, Charbonneau, and their son, Baptiste, left to go see Clark. Clark
was Baptistes godfather and Clark told his parents that if they come to his farm then
Clark himself would tutor Baptiste in school. Charbonneau went back to fur trading
when the farm was not working out for him. A couple of years later in 1812, Sacagawea
gave birth to a girl. They named her Lisette. Sacagawea died later that year after

becoming very ill after giving birth. William Clark adopted both of her children, but
there are no records of Lisette (Sacagawea Biography for Kids, n.d.) When
trying to find out information on Sacagaweas children there is not anything on her
daughter. There is limited information on her son, Baptiste.
Today:
Sacagawea is still remembered for the help that she offered Lewis and Clark on
their expedition. In 2000, Sacagawea was featured on the gold dollar coin. Gleanna
Goodacre, the artist of the obverse, included the large, dark eyes attributed to Sacagawea
in Shoshone legend. On her back, Sacagawea carries Jean Baptiste, her infant son
(The United States Mint, n.d.) There are many statues across the nation to represent
Sacagawea so that she is remembered for her bravery in helping the expedition. Even
though, Sacagawea was not thanked and awarded when the expedition was done, we still
honor her and owe her much credit to this great nation we live in.

Work Cited
(n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2016, from http://www.biography.com/people/sacagawea9468731#lewis-and-clark-expedition.
(n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2016, from
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/saca.html
Ambrose, S. E. (n.d.). Undaunted courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the
opening of the American West.
Louisiana Purchase. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2016, from
http://www.history.com/topics/louisiana-purchase
SACAGAWEA Native American Indian Study Guide: Gigantic In-Depth Multimedia
Web Portal, California Indian Education Resource. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26,
2016, from http://www.californiaindianeducation.org/famous_indians/sacagawea/
Sacagawea. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2016, from
http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/sacagawea
Sacagawea Biography for Kids Lewis and Clark. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2016,
from http://mrnussbaum.com/sacagawea/
The United States Mint About The Mint. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2016, from
http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/golden_dollar_coin/index.cfm?action=Sac
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