Sacagawea
Born: 1788 in Lemhi River Valley
Died: December 20,1812
Ethnicity: American Native
Known For: Accompanied Lewis and Clark on there expedition.
Spouse(s): Toussaint Charbonneau
Children: Jean Baptiste Charbonneau and Lizette Charbonneau.
Died: December 20,1812
Ethnicity: American Native
Known For: Accompanied Lewis and Clark on there expedition.
Spouse(s): Toussaint Charbonneau
Children: Jean Baptiste Charbonneau and Lizette Charbonneau.
Early Life
As 16 or 17 years old, Could you lead visitors through your old neighborhood, a place you had last seen as a child of 11 or 12? Could you also care for your spouse and a baby? Sacagawea, the only woman to travel with the Corps of Discovery, did this and more.
In 1804, Sacagawea was living with the Mandan and Hidatsa, near present day Bismarck, North Dakota. About four years earlier, a Hidatsa raiding party had taken Sacagawea from her home in Idaho and from her family. Living with the Mandan and Hidatsa, Sacagawea married French trader Toussaint Charbonneau. In February of 1805, she gave birth to her son, her first child.
Two months after the birth of her son, Sacagawea left the Mandan and Hidatsa villiges to journey west with the Corps of discovery. Simply because Sacagawea was a woman she helped dispel the notion that the group she was helping was a war party.
In 1804, Sacagawea was living with the Mandan and Hidatsa, near present day Bismarck, North Dakota. About four years earlier, a Hidatsa raiding party had taken Sacagawea from her home in Idaho and from her family. Living with the Mandan and Hidatsa, Sacagawea married French trader Toussaint Charbonneau. In February of 1805, she gave birth to her son, her first child.
Two months after the birth of her son, Sacagawea left the Mandan and Hidatsa villiges to journey west with the Corps of discovery. Simply because Sacagawea was a woman she helped dispel the notion that the group she was helping was a war party.
While Traveling
Two months after the birth of her son, Sacagawea left the Mandan and Hidatsa villiges to journey west with the Corps of discovery. Simply because Sacagawea was a woman she helped dispel the notion that the group she was helping was a war party. Sacagawea, a woman with a party of men is a token of peace.
Once the corps reached Idaho, Sacagawea's knowledge of the landscape and the Shoshone language was being proved valuable. The corps were eager to find the Shoshone and trade with them for horses. The success of the journey was dependent upon wether or not they found horses.
As the Corps traveled eastward in 1806, returning to St. Louis, they stopped again at the Madan and Hidasta villages. There Sacagawea and her family ended their journey
Once the corps reached Idaho, Sacagawea's knowledge of the landscape and the Shoshone language was being proved valuable. The corps were eager to find the Shoshone and trade with them for horses. The success of the journey was dependent upon wether or not they found horses.
As the Corps traveled eastward in 1806, returning to St. Louis, they stopped again at the Madan and Hidasta villages. There Sacagawea and her family ended their journey
Later Life and Death
Charbonneau and Sacagawea spent three years among the Hidatsa after the expedition, before accepting William Clark's invitation to settle in St. Louis, Missouri in 1809. They entrusted Jean-Baptiste's education to Clark, who enrolled the young man in the Saint Louis Academy boarding school.
Sacagawea gave birth to a daughter, Lisette or Lizette, sometime after 1810. According to Bonnie "Spirit Wind-Walker" Butterfield, historical documents suggest Sacagawea died in 1812. An 1811 journal entry made by Henry Brackenridge, a fur dealer at Fort Manuel Lisa Trading Post on the Missouri River, stated that both Sacagawea and Charbonneau were living at the fort. He recorded that Sacagawea "… had become sickly and longed to reviste her native country." The following year, John Luttig, a clerk at Fort Manuel Lisa recorded in his journal on December 20, 1812, that "… the wife of Charbonneau, a Snake Squaw (the common term used to denote Shoshone women), died of putrid fever." He went on to say that she was "aged about 25 years. She left a fine infant girl". Documents held by Clark show that her son Baptiste had already been entrusted by Charbonneau into Clark's care for a boarding school education, at Clark's insistence (Jackson, 1962).
A few months later, 15 men were killed in an Indian attack on Fort Manuel Lisa, located at the mouth of the Bighorn River. John Luttig and Sacagawea's young daughter were among the survivors. Some say Toussaint Charbonneau was killed at this time; others say he signed over formal custody of his son to Clark in 1813.
As further proof that Sacagawea died at this time.
Sacagawea gave birth to a daughter, Lisette or Lizette, sometime after 1810. According to Bonnie "Spirit Wind-Walker" Butterfield, historical documents suggest Sacagawea died in 1812. An 1811 journal entry made by Henry Brackenridge, a fur dealer at Fort Manuel Lisa Trading Post on the Missouri River, stated that both Sacagawea and Charbonneau were living at the fort. He recorded that Sacagawea "… had become sickly and longed to reviste her native country." The following year, John Luttig, a clerk at Fort Manuel Lisa recorded in his journal on December 20, 1812, that "… the wife of Charbonneau, a Snake Squaw (the common term used to denote Shoshone women), died of putrid fever." He went on to say that she was "aged about 25 years. She left a fine infant girl". Documents held by Clark show that her son Baptiste had already been entrusted by Charbonneau into Clark's care for a boarding school education, at Clark's insistence (Jackson, 1962).
A few months later, 15 men were killed in an Indian attack on Fort Manuel Lisa, located at the mouth of the Bighorn River. John Luttig and Sacagawea's young daughter were among the survivors. Some say Toussaint Charbonneau was killed at this time; others say he signed over formal custody of his son to Clark in 1813.
As further proof that Sacagawea died at this time.