Ghosts of History: Sacagawea

I am Sacagawea, of the Agaidika band of the Shoshone. Daughter of a chief. I know the mountains and rivers of the West. I walk with the strength of my mothers.

Who are you?

I am Sacagawea. I was born where the rivers run cold and the salmon swim upstream. I was taken far from home, but I did not forget the paths of the mountains. I walk between worlds—Shoshone and Hidatsa, woman and guide, mother and traveler. I carry my child and the weight of many hopes. I am the voice between peoples.

Who took you away from your home?

When I was about twelve, a war party of Hidatsa came to our valley. They attacked my village and took me and others. They brought me far from my people, to their village by the big river. I lived with them many years.

What did the Hidatsa do to you?

They came in war and took me from my people. I was no longer free. I lived among them as one of their own, but I was not truly theirs. I was young. I had no choice. In time, I became part of a trader’s household, not because I wanted to, but because I had to survive.

What do you mean by a "trader's household"?

A French trader named Charbonneau took me. I was not asked. I was given, like something to trade. That is how things were for girls like me.

Who are the Shoshone?

The Shoshone are my people. We are mountain people, river people. We hunt the bison on the plains and fish the salmon in the rivers. We travel with the seasons. Some of us live in the high places, others in the desert. We speak a language of the land. We are strong, and we remember our ancestors.

Where are you from?

I am from the land of the Shoshone—the Lemhi Valley, where the rivers run through the mountains. I was born among the Agaidika, the Salmon-Eater people. That is my home.

How did you get here?

After the journey with the captains, I stayed with my husband, Charbonneau. He worked as a guide and trader. In 1811, we traveled to Fort Manuel Lisa, a fur trading post on the Missouri River. I was sick when we arrived. That is where my journey ended.

What journey?

I traveled with the Corps of Discovery—across rivers, plains, and mountains. I carried my baby on my back. I showed them the land I knew as a child. I spoke for them when they needed to trade. It was not my journey, but I made it with them.

How did you die?

I faded by the river, where the cold wind never sleeps. They say it was sickness, but it was more than that. A life too heavy, a body too young, a spirit that had carried too much. I left without ceremony. No mountains to watch over me—only snow, silence, and memory. They say I died in the winter of 1812, at Fort Manuel Lisa, near the wide Missouri. Fever took me—some called it ‘putrid fever,’ others say I was simply too worn down. I was only about twenty-four. I left behind my son, Jean Baptiste. He was still so small. I hoped he would walk a freer path than I did.