Sacagawea Biography

Sacagawea is best known as the guide and interpreter who led the Lewis and Clark expedition across America. However, like many well known historical figures, some of what we actually know of her is really only speculation. The following Sacagawea biography attempts to separate fact from legend.

What we do know of Sacagawea is that she was a Native American woman of the greater Shoshone tribe and was probably born about 1788 in what is now Idaho. Her name means "bird woman" in her native tongue. Her local tribe group was the Agaidika, which means "salmon eater." The Agaidika was typically raided yearly by the Hidatsa, a tribe based out of what is now North Dakota. When Sacagawea was about twelve years old, she and a few other women were captured by the Hidatsa and taken back to North Dakota.

While in North Dakota, Sacagawea became the property of  Quebec trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau, most likely as a result of a gambling match. Charbonneau already had a wife, a Shoshone named "Otter Woman." Toussaint eventually considered both of these women to be his wives, and would add to them three other native American women before he died.

Sacagawea was thrust into Euro-American significance when Meriwhether Lewis and William Clark led the Corps of Discovery to the Hidatsa region. Lewis and Clark knew they needed to be able to communicate with the indigenous people of the western half of the continent as they continued on their journey.

In popular American legend, Sacagawea was a guide for the Corps of Discovery expedition, leading the men around hostile areas, smoothing over public relations with the resident people, and helping to find the easiest path to the Pacific Ocean. However, her role may have been more minor. Charbonneau and Sacagawea were primarily of interest to the expedition because of their skill as translators. Sacagawea knew Shoshone and Hidatsa, and Charbonneau knew French and had a limited knowledge of Hidatsa. Charbonneau also served as cook and was a diplomatic bargainer when the time came to buy horses.

Sacagawea's primary importance could have simply been her presence in the party. Being a woman, and one expecting a child at that, she was a living demonstration that the explorers came in peace. Native American raiding parties did not include women, and unfamiliar tribes would have seen Sacagawea as a sign of the Corps' goodwill.