Montana SuperGraphic

Introduction

Before the mighty Supergirl, Electra, Catwoman or Wonder Woman, there was Sacajawea, a real-life heroine. With her ultra-human powers, she saved the important expedition that documented and mapped America. Sacajawea, the only woman on the journey and one of the youngest members of the Corps of Discovery, helped lead the Lewis and Clark expedition to victory. How did this one woman shape United States history?

The life of Sacajawea was a mystery sketched with scarce details. At about the time she was 12, the Hidatsa tribe captured her from her native Lemhi Shoshone family. She was later sold as a slave to French-Canadian fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau, who made her his wife. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who had been commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to lead the first exploration of the United States, later hired Charbonneau. The Corps of Discovery, the party of explorers came to be known as, was to cross the Mississippi River, head up the Missouri River and go west through the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. Charbonneau and his pregnant wife, Sacajawea, were to serve as interpreters for the party. Sacajawea gave birth to their son, Jean-Baptiste, later nicknamed "Pompey." During the journey, Sacajawea helped lead the explorers back through land where she was kidnapped. She endured hardship and saved the expedition on many occasions. Unbeknownst to us all, the most celebrated woman in United States history was a tremendous asset to the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Related images

Photo courtesy of the Montana Historical Society

The graphic Sacajawea saves the day