Home » Education & Career » History For Children » Sacajawea: Interpreter

Sacajawea: Interpreter

© Mary M. Alward

Sacajawea was born sometime between 1784 and 1787, in the Lemhi Valley, which is present-day Idaho. Her father was a Shoshone Chief. Her name meant "Boat Pusher" in Shoshone.

When Sacajawea was about ten years old, she was kidnapped by Blackfeet and taken to what is present day Bismark, North Dakota. The Blackfeet changed her name to Tsikikawias, which meant "Bird Woman."

No one knows for sure how Sacajawea came to be the wife of Touissant Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trapper. It is suspected she was either sold or he won her in a gambling game. She went to live with Charbonneau in Fort Mandan.

At the fort, Charbonneau met Lewis and Clark, explorers who were heading an expedition to the Pacific Ocean. The men were looking for a guide and interpreter. Charbonneau offered to guide them and bring Sacajawea along as an interpreter. The men agreed.

Sacajawea was only fifteen years old when she was hired as interpreter for the Lewis and Clark Expedition on November 4, 1804. At the time, she was pregnant with her first child.

The expedition stayed at Fort Mandan for the winter. On February 11, 1805, Sacajawea had a son. He was named Jean Baptiste by Charbonneau. Sacajawea gave him the Shoshone name of "Pomp," meaning "first born."

Sacajawea was calm by nature. Lewis and Clark recorded a time when their boat capsized. While others scrambled to right it, Sacajawea swam to salvage important papers that were being swept downstream. If not for her quick thinking, the expedition would probably have failed.

Lewis and Clark's journals describe Sacajawea as helpful, cheerful and uncomplaining. I often wonder how a young woman could walk hundreds of miles with a baby on her back and display such positive qualities.

In the spring of 1806, the expedition headed for home. Sacajawea was familiar with the area. She helped the men find their way home. She was never an official guide for the expedition. She was never paid for her interpreting skills. All the land and money was given to Charbonneau.

Six years after the expedition, Sacajawea gave birth to a daughter. Little is known of this child.

Pomp went with his family to St. Louis in March, 1811. When his parents returned to the Dakotas, Pomp stayed with Clark.

According to native tradition, Sacajawea returned to her home on the Wind River Reservation, where she lived until her death on April 19, 1884.

The copyright of the article Sacajawea: Interpreter in History For Children is owned by Mary M. Alward. Permission to republish Sacajawea: Interpreter in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.