Sacagawea
I want Sacagawea to be my Famous American.
I like Sacagawea because she changed the world for the americans. Without Sacagawea, Lewis and Clark couldn't have made the expedition to explore the new world. A connection that I have to Sacagawea is that her son is born on my birthday, which is on February 11. A fact about Sacagawea is that she was the only woman on the Lewis and Clark expedition. It's also cool that her face was featured on a dollar coin. I want to learn more about Sacagawea. For example, I would like to know how she died. I also want to know why Lewis didn't take custody of Sacagawea's son after her death. I have many unanswered questions about Sacagawea's life and I would like to figure out the answers to those questions.
Bibliography
Fradin, Dennis Brindell. Who Was Sacagawea?. New York: Grosset and Dunlap., 2002.
Sacagawea.Kids Discover. 2002
“Sacagawea Biography”. 3-30-2010. http://www.Biography.com.
McGill, Sara Ann.”Sacagawea” Kids Search. http://Search.ebscohost.com
Sacagawea
Have you ever thought about changing the world? That’s what Sacagawea did when her world was turned upside down. But that didn’t change her because she was going to guide on one of the most remarkable journeys in American History and one of the most significant woman ever.
Sacagawea was born in Idaho in 1789 or 1790 (no one knows for sure when her exact birth date is). She was part of the Shoshone tribe and she grew up on Bitteroot Range on the Rocky Mountains. Her tribe was also called the “Snake Indians” because they often camped by the Snake River. Sacagawea was also called “Bird Woman” because she was small and she moved very quickly. Bird Woman had two brothers and one sister. Sacagawea looked up to her brother, Cameahwait the most.
Did you know that in the 1700’s some children didn’t get the privilege to go to school?
Well, when Sacagawea was young she didn’t go to school either. She learned by working beside the women of her tribe. She learned how to pick fruit, sew clothes, and make medicine. Whenever Sacagawea had spare time she would compete in races with her friends and she would play with mud.
When Sacagawea was about twelve years old, her life completely changed. It was Sacagawea’s worst nightmare. There was an attack from another tribe and fifteen of Sacagawea’s tribe died. The attackers took children and women as prisoners. One of the children that was taken away was Sacagawea’s best friend. Sacagawea’s heart was torn as the kidnappers took her away to North Dakota, which was 600 miles away from her home. As Sacagawea was living there, a fur trader would often visit from Canada to trade fur. When he saw her he wanted her to be his wife. When Sacagawea was about 13 years old, she was traded to the fur trader, who became her new husband. His name was Toussaint Charbonneau (Tu-sann-char-ba-no) and he was three times as old as Sacagawea! By the time Sacagawea was sixteen, she was expecting a baby. On February 11, Sacagawea was about to give birth. To make the birth go faster and easier, she drank water with a special powder that is made from a rattlesnake’s tail. Minutes later, Sacagawea gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Sacagawea and her husband named their baby Jean Baptiste (Jhan ba TEEST), nicknamed “Pomp”. Sometime in 1804, Lewis and Clark passed through Sacagawea’s tribe and they stopped and asked Sacagawea if she could be their translator and guide for their expedition. Sacagawea thought that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity so she said yes. Sacagawea hopped on the boat with her baby on her back and was going to guide on one of the most remarkable journeys in American History. One foggy night on May 14, 1805, the Lewis and Clark crew were sailing on a boat. They were only 300 feet from shore, when all of a sudden a gust of wind rocked the boat and it started to fill with water. The boat started to sink and everybody began to panic. Sacagawea’s husband cried out for help because he couldn’t swim. As the boat sank, every possible item that they needed to complete and survive on their journey floated away. Sacagawea quickly saved the supplies, risking her and her baby’s life. Had Sacagawea not saved the supplies, the expedition would have failed. Five years after Sacagawea was kidnapped she decided to go and reunite with her family in Idaho. On June 1, 1805, Sacagawea had a fever. As the fever grew worse, they were scared for her. On June 16, Clark wrote in this in his journal, “The Indian woman, verrry bad …out of her senses”. It was not until June 24, 1805 that Sacagawea got better. Then one day, on December 20,1812, Sacagawea died while giving birth to her daughter, Lisette. Everyone was devastated that Bird Woman died. It was even more tragic that Lisette and Pomp lost their courageous and brave mother. Clark took custody of Lisette and Pomp and they went to live with him. Sacagawea guided on one of the most important journeys ever and yet she was never paid for it. A century later, after the expedition, everyone forgot about Sacagawea. Everyone discovered her after the expedition’s 100th anniversary. Sacagawea has more landmarks and memorials built in her honor than any other American woman. In the 21st century, U.S. Mint planned to issue a new dollar coin with Sacagawea’s picture on it. Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Wyoming have mountains named after her. There are also lakes named after her in Washington and North Dakota. A statue of Sacagawea and Pomp will soon be placed in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C. In all, Sacagawea has twenty-three monuments and memorials, three mountains, and eight lakes named after her.
Listen to an Interview with Sacagawea
Comments (12)
Ivey said
at 9:59 am on Apr 20, 2010
good luck hope you will have fun studying her
KaitlinL said
at 10:22 am on Apr 20, 2010
awesome
Ivey said
at 4:29 pm on Apr 22, 2010
*GOOD LUCK*
Belma said
at 9:45 pm on Apr 27, 2010
thanx
Ivey said
at 8:38 pm on May 7, 2010
your pic. is really cooool!
Edmarie said
at 8:20 am on May 11, 2010
How old is she now?
Abbey said
at 1:23 pm on Jun 8, 2010
good luck at famous american night
Belma said
at 2:29 pm on Jun 9, 2010
if sacagawea is still alive i think she would be about 150 years old!
Belma said
at 2:29 pm on Jun 9, 2010
thanks for commenting! i appreciate it!
HaleyL said
at 6:19 pm on Jun 14, 2010
I think that she is very cool, have lots of fun, you are doing great.
NatalieO said
at 6:25 pm on Jun 14, 2010
Good luck Lexi btw this is your cuz Natalie!!!!! I♥U!!!!!!!!!
KaitlinL said
at 7:26 pm on Jun 14, 2010
cool or gggrrooovviie
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