Sacagawea
Sacagawea
Sacagawea, the daughter of a Shoshone chief, was born 1788 in Lemhi County, Idaho. At around age 12, she was captured by an enemy tribe and sold to a French-Canadian trapper who made her his wife. In November 1804, she was invited to join the Lewis and Clark expedition as a Shoshone interpreter. After leaving the expedition, she died at Fort Manuel in what is now Kenel, South Dakota, 1812.
In Sacagawea’s childhood, she had been captured along with her friend. She was a small and slender girl at the time of being captured. She was then sold to a French-Canadian trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau who made her one of his wives. They had taken the captured Shoshones back to the Minnetaree village near the Missouri River as Minnetaree slaves. Sacagawea was more than five hundred miles away from home, wishing she had wings to fly back home . At first, Sacagawea did not have a name until the Minnetarees had named her Sacagawea , which meant Bird Woman. Because the Minnetarees believed that birds held sacred powers, it was a name of respect. Sacagawea, who was about the age of sixteen, was married now and was no longer a Minnetaree slave. She had married forty-six-year-old Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trapper and trader, but also bartered with the Minnetarees for two Shoshone captives, Sacagawea and Otter Woman. Charbonneau wouldn't have been Sacagawea’s choice of husband, but then what women ever had a choice? Charbonneau didn't speak Shoshone and Sacagawea didn't speak French, they spoke to each other in Minnetaree. Sacagawea was pregnant now and didn't feel like Bird Woman at all , just felt like a heavy earthbound.
In November 1804, an expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William
Sacagawea, the daughter of a Shoshone chief, was born 1788 in Lemhi County, Idaho. At around age 12, she was captured by an enemy tribe and sold to a French-Canadian trapper who made her his wife. In November 1804, she was invited to join the Lewis and Clark expedition as a Shoshone interpreter. After leaving the expedition, she died at Fort Manuel in what is now Kenel, South Dakota, 1812.
In Sacagawea’s childhood, she had been captured along with her friend. She was a small and slender girl at the time of being captured. She was then sold to a French-Canadian trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau who made her one of his wives. They had taken the captured Shoshones back to the Minnetaree village near the Missouri River as Minnetaree slaves. Sacagawea was more than five hundred miles away from home, wishing she had wings to fly back home . At first, Sacagawea did not have a name until the Minnetarees had named her Sacagawea , which meant Bird Woman. Because the Minnetarees believed that birds held sacred powers, it was a name of respect. Sacagawea, who was about the age of sixteen, was married now and was no longer a Minnetaree slave. She had married forty-six-year-old Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trapper and trader, but also bartered with the Minnetarees for two Shoshone captives, Sacagawea and Otter Woman. Charbonneau wouldn't have been Sacagawea’s choice of husband, but then what women ever had a choice? Charbonneau didn't speak Shoshone and Sacagawea didn't speak French, they spoke to each other in Minnetaree. Sacagawea was pregnant now and didn't feel like Bird Woman at all , just felt like a heavy earthbound.
In November 1804, an expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William