Sacagawea's Biography
Being kidnapped by Hidatsa Indians when she was only fourteen made Sacagawea the fighter and the strong soul that she was. Although Sacagawea was sold to Charbonneau as one of his many wives in 1800, she was much more than just another wife. Without her, Lewis and Clark wouldn’t be able to communicate effectively with the Natives. This land was foreign to them, but Sacagawea knew the land and resources and that really helped Lewis and Clark to be successful with their expedition. Not only did Sacagawea help negotiate with other Shoshone Indians to get Lewis and Clark horses, but also was willing to raise her baby Jean Baptiste along the journey because she knew how much the Lewis and Clark depended on her. Sacagawea never let anyone down, but rather continued to shock them with what she had to offer.
Unfortunately, there were not many definite dates in Sacagawea’s lifetime. This made it hard to fully understand what her life was like, however I have gathered enough information to get a feeling of how difficult it was for her to have her whole life controlled by what other people wanted. Even though she constantly was put in situations that she had no choice in, she still chose her attitude (something that is hard to do when things don’t go your way) and decided to be helpful rather than stubborn. Instead of resting or settling down after she had her baby she still led Lewis and Clark everywhere they needed to go quickly and efficiently. Throughout the expedition, Sacagawea demonstrated a lot of character, and I learned more from that than I could about any dates.
After the expedition, the rest of Sacagawea’s life is a bit of a mystery. Not much of her life was really documented after she left the expedition. However, we can still learn from what we do have record of, and learn from her great leadership qualities that were showcased along the expedition. Sacagawea will be remembered as a selfless soul, and that sets her apart from many other historical figures we learn about who were more focused on their own desires. We see examples of Sacagawea’s character everyday; although we might not realize it, she will continue to influence the way we help others. Whenever we help someone get to class, or show a new student around school, we demonstrate what Sacagawea stood for: peace and togetherness, and that if we are capable to help, we should. Of course a simple act like giving someone directions is a very downgraded version of what Sacagawea did, but the character is still there.
Even though the Lewis and Clark Expedition happened in 1804, we can still learn from it not just in a historical way, but a moral way also. Sacagawea did not have much choice in her life, but she did have one, to choose how she wanted to live her life, no matter what situation she was in, and that is something we can continue to learn from long after her lifetime.