Sacagawea
Sacagawea…
Sacagawea earned her self-one
of the most respected and legendary places in history. Although it wasn’t easy
to get where she got herself. At a young age of twelve years old she was
kidnapped by a war party of the Hidatsa Indian, who were enemies of her people.
She was sold as a slave when she arrived at the Hidatsa Village. She was sold to
Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trader. He would claim Sacagawea
and another Shoshone woman as his wives. According to pbs.org “The captains
felt that because of her Shoshone heritage, Sacagawea could be important in
trading for horses when the Corps reached the western mountains and the
Shoshones. While Sacagawea did not speak English, she spoke Shoshone and
Hidatsa. Her husband Charbonneau spoke Hidatsa and French. In effect, Sacagawea
and Charbonneau would become an interpreter team.”. Sacagawea was very helpful
to the Hidatsa. However, she was not appreciated for anything. For example,
pbs.org also mentions “During the expedition’s return journey, as they passed
through her homeland, Sacagawea proved a valuable guide. She remembered Shoshone
trails from her childhood, and Clark praised her as his “pilot.” The most
important trail she recalled, which Clark described as “a large road passing
through a gap in the mountain,” led to the Yellowstone River. (Today, it is
known as Bozeman Pass, Montana.) The Corps returned to the Hidatsa-Mandan
villages on August 14, 1806, marking the end of the trip for Sacagawea,
Charbonneau and their boy, Jean Baptiste. When the trip was over, Sacagawea
received nothing, but Charbonneau was given $500.33 and 320 acres of land.”
This showed me the native American women were never treated equally to the men
no matter how helpful they are of what they do no matter the impact.
Reference;
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/sacagawea.htm
The story of Sacagawea is indeed very interesting. I believe that her situation was even more complicated . As you said, she was kidnapped, sold as a slave, and eventually married to the French-Canadian fur trader. Separated from her people as a child, and suddenly put in the new reality definitely left a scar on her life. However, on the beginning of the 19th century women from Western World just started to fight for their rights. The American Suffrage Movement just began to arise. I think that being Native American woman had nothing to do with the equality. Women at that time did not have the same rights like men. Therefore, being an Indian woman like Sacagawea made her situation probably even worse.
ReplyDeleteSacagawea was only 16 years old when she crossed the United States with her baby on her back to help Lewis and Clark map westward reaching the Pacific. Sadly, her journey helped the United States settle a huge region. Born in what is now Idaho in either 1789 or 1790, she served as an incredible guide to explorers traveling across the American Northwest. When the explorers were hungry, she found food. When they met other Indians along the way, she was their translator. Thanks to her help the expedition was a success (Fradin).
ReplyDeleteShe traveled 4,500 miles with her baby on her back, yet she wasn't even paid a penny (Fradin).
The Corps of Discovery (Lewis and Clarks boat) covered 8,000 miles over the course of their 28 month expedition. They were away for so long and not heard from that people began to think they were dead.
After reading more about Lewis and Clark, I was curious to learn what happened to Sacagawea's children Jean Baptiste (Pomp) and Lisette. They were taken in permanently by William Clark after Sacagawea's death at the age of approximately 25.
in the article below from "National Public Radio", their is controversy as to the death of Meriwether Lewis. For a long time, it was though that he was murdered. In the book "Meriwhether Lewis: A New Boigraphy" by Thomas Danisi and John Jackson, speculate his lifelong battle with malaria caused him to end his own life (NPR).
The children's book below also states he ended his own life.
" After the expedition, Lewis was named the governor of the Louisiana Territory. Lewis did a poor job. He was a heavy drinker. The woman he loved married someone else. He owed money to several friends. On October 11, 1809 Meriwether Lewis shot himself to death." (Fradin 97)
Another interesting fact I learned after reading more about Lewis and Clark was that Clark had an African-American slave named York. Like many people that traveled on this expedition, York's fate is also in question. Some accounts say Clark freed York, other's believe he escaped and lived with Crow Indians in Wyoming. Despite what happened to him in the end, while on the expedition York felt what it was like to be free making returning to enslavement unbearable. His opinions were respected, votes were counted when the group was deciding where to stay for the winter, and has two geographic discoveries names after him (York's Eight Islands and York's Dry Creek).
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113712695
Fradin, Judith. (2002). Who Was Sacagawea?. Penguin Books