With her infant son bound to her back, she single-handedly rescued Captain Clark’s journals from the Missouri whitewater when their boat capsized.

She provided crucial knowledge of the topography of some of the most rugged country of North America and taught the explorers how to find edible roots and plants previously unknown to European-Americans. Her contribution far exceeded anything Lewis and Clark had expected. Despite these possible limitations for such an arduous journey, she knew several Indian languages, and being Shoshone, could help Lewis and Clark make contact with her people and acquire horses that were crucial to the success of the mission.

Sacagawea was only 15 years old at the time and already six months pregnant. Hired by Lewis and ClarkĬharbonneau was hired by Captains Lewis and Clark primarily because of the skills his wife, Sacagawea, possessed. They then sold her (or gave her away in a bet) to Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trader, who made her his wife. She was later sold into slavery with the Missouri River Mandans. Her husband and their son, who was born during the trip, also accompanied the group.Īt about the age of 11, Sacagawea was captured by a Hidatsa raiding party and taken from her Shoshone tribe. From 1804-1806, while still a teenager, she guided the adventurers from the Northern Great Plains to the Pacific Ocean and back. Sacagawea was the Shoshone Indian who assisted the historic Lewis and Clark expedition. In 2009, the dollar transitioned to the Native American $1 Coin Program using the Sacagawea obverse paired with different reverse designs each year. The obverse design features Sacagawea and the reverse depicts a soaring eagle. It was the first dollar made with an outer layer of manganese brass, giving it a golden color. Mint issued the Sacagawea Golden Dollar from 2000 to 2008.

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