Sacagawea

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Throughout history, women have rarely been recognized for their contributions that have impacted the world. Sacagawea, a young native american girl, had a rough start in life by being kidnapped and sold at a young age. During the Lewis and Clark expedition, Sacagawea acted as both their guide and translator. Lewis and Clark were saved countless times with the use of Sacagawea’s knowledge and survival skills. Sacagawea was an important women in American History because without her the Lewis and Clark expedition would have failed.
Sacagawea was born in 1788 into an Agaidika (Salmon Eater) tribe of Shoshone Native Americans which is located in todays Idaho. When Sacagawea was twelve years old she and several other Shoshone girls were kidnapped in the midst of a battle between indian tribes. At the age of thirteen Sacagawea was sold to Toussaint Charbonneau, a Canadian trapper, where he took her as his new wife. By the age of sixteen, Sacagawea was already pregnant with her first child. Although Sacagawea had a rough start, she still went on to make history.
Sacagawea helped Lewis and Clark communicate with other indian tribes and taught them about the native flora and fauna of the region. In 1804 Lewis and Clark hired Sacagawea and her husband as a translator and guide for their expedition to the west coast. They hired Toussaint Charbonneau mainly because of his wife Sacagawea who spoke Shoshone and would later be of great use to them. Soon after beginning their journey west Sacagawea gave birth to a son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. The addition of a newborn baby added to their non-threatening image as a peaceful explorer party. Sacagawea also contributed by diving into the cold water to rescue important documents after their ...

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...nd survive. By leaving her first husband and making a life for herself, Sacagawea set an example for the Suffragettes and many other American women. Not only did Sacagawea make the Lewis and Clark expedition possible but she also became a symbol for what a women could be.

Works Cited

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacagawea http://www.biography.com/people/sacagawea-9468731 http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nwa/sacajawea.html http://lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=2664 http://billingsgazette.com/news/features/magazine/reviews-books-give-introduction-to-corps-of-discovery/article_32b90526-047a-5930-8303-5b0254aa44b3.html http://books.google.com/books?id=wfGPEX0PA3wC&pg=PA209&lpg=PA209&ots=NN5PQKDfhP&focus=viewport&dq=sacagawea%2Babused+by+husband&output=html_text http://idahoptv.org/lc/sacagawea/importance.cfm
http://www.historynet.com/sacagawea

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