Sacagawea

== =Introduction= ==== "The modest, unselfish, enduring little Shoshone squaw, who uncomplainingly trailed, canoed, climbed, slave and starved with the men of the party, enduring all that they endured, with the addition of a helpless baby on her back (Sacagawea)." This quote demonstrates what Sacagawea had to go through with Lewis and Clark. This group was also called the Corps of Discovery. They were sent to explore the Louisiana purchase that Thomas Jefferson bought (Jensen). Sacagawea was really important in this trip, without her Lewis and Clark would've been lost because she was their guide. ====

[[image:ahswhg2/Sacagawea-275.jpg align="right" caption="Sacagawea and The Corps of Discovery." link="@http://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-sacagawea.html"]]
= Personal Background = ==== Lewis and Clark were on an important expedition, they were sent to explore The Louisiana Purchase. There they meet Sacagawea and they became The Corps Of Discovery (Jensen). Sacagawea was born 1789 (Hunsaker 83) and died 1812 (Hunsaker 86). She died in her mid 20’s (Jensen). Sacagawea was about 17 when she left on the expedition with Lewis and Clark (Talbot). Sacagawea was an important person during this trip. Why, because she was Lewis and Clark guide since Sacagawea knew those lands because she grew up there (Moulton). Another fact is Sacagawea is known by carrying a baby on her back during the trip. Sacagawea was a young Shoshone mother (McCoy). Sacagawea was kidnaped when she was 11 and she spent the next few years with them (Jensen). Sacagawea was known to have black hair (Talbot), and was married to Toussaint Charbonneau (Hunsaker 83). Sacagawea was also thin and elegant (Talbot). Sacagawea was also a modest princess of the Shoshones. During the expedition she found her real tribe and found out she had an older brother named Cameanwait (McCoy). After walking for 16 months, Sacagawea, her son and her husband had finally arrived home. They had traveled 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles). After the expedition ended, nothing much is know about Sacagawea. After Sacagawea died, Clark took care of her son named Pomp. His name was Shoshone and it meant “leader” (Jensen). Clark also took care of her other daughter Lisette (Talbot). Sacagawea was an important person to this trip because she helped a lot through this expedition and without her Lewis and Clark wouldn’t know how to navigate through the new lands. ==== = = =Personality Traits= ==== Sacagawea was a brave and outgoing woman who did not give up during the journey (Talbot). She was known to be a cheerfully upbeat woman (McCoy). She was also a skilled traveler, hard worker, brave woman, and a good forager (Moulton). Sacagawea was also a curious woman (Talbot). Sacagawea knew the lands and she knew what was edible and what was not edible. She was in charge of collecting the food. Sacagawea also spoke many languages that is why she could make peace with all the tribes they meet along the way. When they meet a tribe Sacagawea would translate for Lewis and Clark. Sacagawea would get food and supplies from the tribes they meet on the trip (Moulton). Sacagawea is sometimes mistaken by Pocahontas, but they are two different persons (McCoy). They were alike in how they both helped white men and both were good Indians (Talbot). Sacagawea was a war captive, kidnapped from the Shoshone by a Hidatsa war party. She lived with them and then was married to Charbonneau. Sacagawea was the only woman in the party (Talbot). Sacagawea never complained and her strength impressed the men of the corps (Jensen). ==== = = =Obstacles= ==== During the journey, The Corps of Discovery were running out of food and supply. The journey also took long and they traveled a lot. Sacagawea and the group battled steep mountains, raging rivers, and had to survive fierce snowstorms (Jensen). An obstacle Sacagawea faced was that during the trip she gave birth to her son (Talbot). This must have been very difficult since they didn’t have doctors or tools and she also had to carry a baby on her back during the journey. One obstacle Sacagawea faced was once when they were on the boat on the Missouri river Lewis dropped some paper and they were floating away. Sacagawea brave and outgoing jumped into the river to retrieve them. The men were looking at her like if she was crazy. After wards they thanked her for getting them back. Thanks to Sacagawea, she saved the day. Another obstacle would be meeting her brother after a long time and then have to say goodbye (Jensen). Sacagawea had to go through many obstacles and maybe the hardest one was carrying her baby on her back during the whole trip (McCoy). At the end it was all worth it because they arrived save and sound and the obstacles were all over. The obstacles that the group had to face were fixed by Sacagawea. Sacagawea was an important person during this journey that helped them face obstacles. ==== = = =Historical Significance= ==== Sacagawea was a symbol of peace to the tribes they meet along the way during the adventure (Jensen). She was seeing as a source of pride for all the tribes. With her presence it seemed like she disarmed potentially hostile tribes along the way (Talbot). Being a symbol of peace must be great for the adventure since they meet a lot of tribes. Sacagawea is also known to have more statues in the country than any other American woman. She is one of the America’s leading ladies because she led the expedition and she was a woman (Jensen). Sacagawea also inspired women to be leaders (Talbot). Sacagawea was one of the reasons for the corps’s success (Jensen). Many people know Sacagawea because she is carrying a baby on her back on the “heads” side of the dollar coin the U.S. issued in 2000. The U.S. had settled her as the “Golden Dollar”.The Corps of Discovery with the help of Sacagawea had found the way to the Pacific Ocean. Sacagawea had opened a Northwest Passage. Sacagawea’s statue is a memory of a woman who accomplished patriotic deeds. Her statue coincided with the hosting of the convention of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association. Sacagawea now lead the way to attaining women’s suffrage. She was a great leader of men, patient and motherly woman, and she had become an “Indian princess” (McCoy). She is a big part of American history. Sacagawea’s legend still lives on today because she was a strong and brave woman (Jensen). Sacagawea gave women a sense that they too can be leaders (Hunsaker 83). On the trip once they were arguing on which way to go and they voted, it was the first time a woman voted. Her action in 1805 is an important milestone in American history (Hunsaker 84). For Lewis and Clark meeting Sacagawea changed their life (Jensen). Sacagawea was important to history because she made a big change in the adventure, she helped a lot. She was to become the only woman on the most important American expedition to the West (Hunsaker 84). Sacagawea was a strong woman, brave woman, courage’s woman, and a very important person to the trip. ==== = = =References= ==== Berne, Emma Carison.Sacagawea Crossing the Continent with Lewis and Clark. New York: Sterling Publishing Co. 2010. Print. **source evaluation #6** ==== ==== Hunsaker, Joyce Badgely. Sacagawea speaks Beyond the Shining Mountains with Lewis and Clark. Gullford: The Globe Pequot Press, 2001. Print. **source evaluation #5** ==== ==== Jensen, Dana."Who Was Sacagawea?." National Geographic Explorer. 01 Mar. 2007: 20. eLibrary. Web. 17 Sep. 2014. **source evaluation #1** ==== ==== Mc Coy, Ron B.. "She of myth and memory." World & I 3(2002):160. eLibrary. Web. 16 Oct. 2014. **source evaluation #3** ==== ==== Moulton, Candy. "Lewis and clark in Montana and Beyond." Wild West. 01 Apr. 2004: 28. eLibrary. Web. 06 Nov. 2014. **source evaluation #4** ==== ==== Talbot, Margaret. "Searching for Sacagawea." National Geographic. 01 Feb. 2003: 68. eLibrary. Web. 02 Oct. 2014. **source evaluation #2** ====