Sacagawea the "guide" of Lewis & Clark (Women who changed the world)

In this episode of “Check This Out! Podcast for Kids,” hosts Amy and Cece continue their inspiring series on Women Who Changed the World by diving into the remarkable story of Sacagawea. Listeners are introduced to fascinating facts about Sacagawea, including her significance in American history and her role in the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Amy kicks off the episode by discussing the historical context of the Louisiana Purchase—a pivotal event during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency that set the stage for westward expansion. She highlights how this land acquisition prompted the need for exploration, leading to the legendary expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

Cece and Amy later focus on Sacagawea’s critical contributions to this journey. Despite common misconceptions, they clarify her role as more than just a guide; Sacagawea acted as an interpreter and vital support system, managing her infant son while navigating the uncharted territories and building relationships with Native American tribes.

Listeners learn about Sacagawea’s brave actions during the expedition, such as saving essential supplies after a boat capsized, and her emotional reunion with her brother, the chief of the Shoshone tribe. They also discuss her legacy—how she remains one of the most commemorated women in American history despite not receiving compensation for her pivotal work.

Join Amy and Cece for an engaging and educational exploration of Sacagawea’s life and the indelible mark she left on history!

Transcript

Welcome to Check this out! Podcast for kids 

And their grownups where we explore people, places, ponderings and past moments from history that shape the world around us.  My name is Amy Contreras, and I’m Cece.  

Today we are continuing our series on 

Cece: Women Who Changed the World 

This episode of Women who changed the world features a woman who has a few interesting factoids about her.  Do you want to hear them? 

Cece: Hit me with it! 

Ok here goes… 

There are more statues of this woman in the United States than of any other American woman. 

Cece: Wow! 

She has been featured on the United States Dollar coin 

Cece: Cool 

She traveled across the country as a teenager with explorers Lewis and Clark while carrying her infant baby on her back 

Cece: What?! 

She had a river named in her honor 

Cece: No Way 

Yes and i’m not even done! 

There are 3 US naval ships named after her 

She was featured on a US stamp 

Her memory was used to help fight for women’s suffrage (which is the right to vote) in the late 1800s and early 1900s 

Cece: Any idea who it was? 

Well listeners if you guessed Sacagawea you’re right on the money!  

If you didn’t guess Sacagawea, do you know who she is? 

Have you heard of her before? 

If you’ve seen the night at the museum movies you might recognize her name.  But no fear if you’ve never heard of her before, because after today’s episode you’ll be a pro!  

Cece: Here we go! 

This Woman who Changed the world is fascinating to talk about because much of what we know about her is from the perspectives of other people around her.  But before I dive  in and start telling you about this incredible woman.  Let me give you a lay of the land about the time she lived in and what led to her being so well remembered in American History today.  

Cece: Where should we begin 

I think the best place to begin is with the fact that during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency he made a MASSIVE land purchase that greatly expanded the size of the United States.  If you listened to our president mini-episode on Thomas Jefferson we talked a little bit about this moment in history.  

Do you remember what this was called? Was it the 

1. Louisiana Purchase 
2. Manifest Destiny Purchase 
3. Mississippi Purchase 

Cece: If you guessed A that was a great guess.  

Thomas Jefferson oversaw the Louisiana Purchase that happened in 1803. This is one of the biggest legacies of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency.   The Louisiana Purchase was a land deal between the United States and France. The US bought 827,000 square miles of land that was west of the Mississippi River, and we got allllll that land for $15 million.  

Cece: Whoa no way! 

The Louisiana Purchase helped block Spain, Britain and France from being able to access and colonize North America in the way they had previously been able to.  This was also a TON of land and it basically doubled the size of the United States at the time.  By buying all this western land it set the US on a course of Westward Expansion and colonization across the continent that we know today as the US.

Cece: Good to know 

Understanding the Louisiana Purchase matters because this ultimately led to a famous expedition across the continent that was led by 2 famous explorers and our very own topic of this week’s episode… Sacagawea!  

Cece: Tell us more! 

When Thomas Jefferson became president he hoped to drive exploration across the continent.  Remember they didn’t have planes, or drones, or the internet in 1803… they didn’t even have cars or highways yet!  So when Jefferson bought all this land from France he didn’t even know what was on it!  

Cece: You’ve gotta be joking! 

Nope! It was a very different world 220 years ago.  In January of 1803, President Jefferson sent a confidential letter to Congress asking for money to fund an exploration expedition across the continent that would go all the way to the Pacific Ocean. 

Do you want to guess how much money he asked Congress for to fund this expedition? 

Was it 

1. $50,000
2. $25,000
3. $2,500

The answer was C - $2500!  This is less than how much lots of people pay in rent these days.  Today $2500 is equal to a little over $60,000.  Which is a lot of money!  

Cece: What happened? 

Thomas got the funds and not long after his request to congress the expedition took place. In 1804, about 45 men led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark headed out on their expedition.  Meriwether Lewis and William Clark is kind of a mouthful so they are often referred to as Lewis and Clark.  

Lewis & Clark took their party and went up the Missouri River, crossed the Rocky Mountains, took the Columbia River, and reached the Pacific Ocean by November 1805.

But that is a big simplification of a massive and complex undertaking.  

Cece: I can imagine! 

The goal of the expedition across the continent (because remember, much of where they were traveling wasn’t part of the united states yet) was to establish diplomatic contacts with Native American Tribes, expand the fur trade, understand the landscape and animals, and locate the “northwest passage” 

Cece: What is that? 

The northwest passage turned out to not exist over land on the continent.  But it was hoped by many in the 1800s and early 1900s that there was a water route, or a river, that could take people all the way to the pacific ocean from the atlantic ocean across the country.  AKA a river you could travel east to west on from one coast to the other.  This mattered for trade and travel because in the olden days people couldn’t just hop on a plane and fly from new york to seattle or San Francisco like they can today.  Boats, trains, wagons, horses and even walking, were often the main form of travel for longer passages.  

Cece: Check this out

The actual northwest passage wasn’t discovered until over 100 years later in 1906 and required a long boat ride up over the top of canada and into the arctic circle.  The story of that discovery is cool as well, but we will save that for another time.  

Cece: Fair enough 

So back to lewis and clark and their expedition.  As a reminder they had a few key goals. They were supposed to 

• get to the pacific ocean
• establish friendly relationships with native americans along the way
• expand the fur trade
• Document plant and animal life along the way 
• Document the landscape 
• and seek the northwest passage.     

Cece: Got it 

At this point you’re probably thinking… Amy this is an episode on Sacagawea. Why are you telling me so much about Thomas Jefferon and Lewis and Clark?  And I’d say… you’re right! But understanding Sacagawea’s legacy matters because the reason we remember her today is tied up into the decisions, actions, and legacies of these men we just talked about.  

Just talking about Sacagawea without understanding what was happening around her and the goals and motivations of the people she was with you’d miss some important facts.  

Cece: Oh that's important. 

Yup! But now I think you’re ready for Sacagawea’s story and the role she played in this expedition.  

Sacagawea is the other most famous person in the Lewis and Clark expedition.  She is often mentioned in the same breath as them and many refer to Sacagawea as the Native American guide for the expedition across the continent.  (Remember I say continent, and not country, because it wasn’t all the United States yet)  

But right away I want to correct some misinformation that is out there about Sacagawea - just in case you’ve heard it before.  

Cece: Hit me with it 

1. A common misconception is Her NAME
   1. Did you know her name isn’t actually pronounced Sacagawea?  The pronunciation is actually SaKawgawea and I will refer to her with that pronunciation for the rest of the episode!  
   2. On the topic of her name there is some uncertainty around the actual spelling of her name.  As it was written several different ways in the journals of the men she traveled with.  
   3. Most notably Her name was written several different ways in the diaries of Lewis and Clark.  Her name is believed to be a Hidasta name which is the tribe that kidnapped her when she was about 12 years old.  But her birth tribe, the Shoshone, claims a different spelling.  
   4. She was also nicknamed Janey by Lewis 
2. Sacagawea, the famous guide of the lewis and clark expedition 
   1. Sacagawea is often portrayed as the guide on the Lewis and Clark expedition.  She was involved in the expedition because her husband, a french-canadian fur trader named Toussaint Charbonneau convinced lewis and clark to hire HIM as a guide and interpreter.  Sacagawea’s husband, Charbonneau knew the Hidatsa language and the sign languages common among the river tribes they would encounter on their journey 
   2. Charbonneau also sold lewis and clark on the fact that he was married to Sacagawea, who was originally of the Shoshone tribe but had been living with the Hidasta since her capture as a child.  He proposed this would be useful as they traveled west, since they expected to encounter and need to trade with the Shoshone.
   3. Art work of Sacagawea often shows her as the guide but she more regularly served as an interpreter, translator, someone who was familiar with the land and plants they could eat.  
   4. Her role was more complex than being the guide, and she likely only truly guided the party a handful of times.  But was certainly essential to the success and survival of all men in the party.  

Cece: I learned something new today!  

So now that some of those misconceptions are out of the way we can keep going!  

What we often remember today as the Lewis and Clark expedition went by another name when it was happening in 1804.  Do you want to guess what the expedition to the pacific ocean was called? 

1. Pacific Journey 
2. Crops of Discovery 
3. Trade Commission

If you guessed B - Corp of discovery you’re right!  

The Corps of Discovery traveled across the continent from May 14, 1804, to September 23, 1806.  It was made up of about 45 men and 1 woman.  Want to guess who it was? 

I hope you said Sacagawea! 

Technically there was also a baby on the Corp of Discovery because Sacagawea gave birth to her infant son, Jean-Baptiste on February 11, 1805.  Less than 2 months later after giving birth, Sacagawea, the baby and her husband headed west.  Keep in mind she was a brand new mom and was only 16 or 17 at the time!  

According to William Clark’s journal Sacagawea’s presence on the journey helped reassure Native American tribes that the expedition was not a war party or had hostile intentions.  

Details of Sacagawea’s role on the expedition are limited to the journals of the men she traveled with.  Without these journals we wouldn’t even know about her role in the Corps of Discovery! But even without clear details historians assume she took on many tasks along the journey she would have done in her home village as well. 

Cece: Like what mama? 

Things like dressing animal hides, making moccasins, and foraging for roots and berries. She also called out familiar landmarks along the way, letting the men know when they were getting close to places she was familiar with.  

Cece: That makes sense

Early in the expedition the boat they were traveling on overturned in the water.   Sacagawea earned the trust of her traveling companions because she acted fast when the boat turned over.  She gathered important papers, books, navigational instruments, medicines and other provisions that could have been lost in the water if she hadn’t acted quickly.  Keep in mind, she did all this while also making sure her baby, Jean Baptiste was safe. These actions were so appreciated that a few days later Lewis and Clark named a branch of the Missouri River for her. 

Cece: She sounds really brave! 

She was! This woman was traveling along with over 40 men and a NEW BORN BABY into a literal unknown wilderness.  

Do you want to guess how many miles the Corps of Discovery traveled on their journey? 

1. 2000 miles
2. 4000 miles
3. 8000 miles 

IT WAS 8000 miles!  A lot of that was on foot, sometimes on boat and horses.  This was a hard trip.  Nothing about it was easy.  Just by participating, Sacagawea was brave.  

Cece: My mind is blown!  

I mentioned earlier that Sacagawea was kidnapped when she was about 12 years old by a neighboring tribe.  Although documentation of her life before and after the Lewis and Clark expedition is limited, it is known she was born to the Shoshone tribe and was kidnapped by the Hidatsa.  The Hidatsa are who traded her to her husband.  

This is important because along the journey with the Corps of Discovery the explorers encountered the Shoshone people.  Sacagawea served as translator, hoping to trade for horses, and during this interaction she realized the chief of the shoshone was her brother and they were reunited after many years of being apart because of her kidnapping and marriage.  

Cece: Wow I love it   

Reports from the journals were that it was a happy and emotional reunion, as you might expect!  According to the journals of Lewis & Clark we know that Sacagawea insisted on seeing the Pacific ocean after such a long journey and was fascinated by the whale carcass they found on the seashore.  

William Clark became so fond of her baby during the expedition that he eventually became the legal guardian of Jean Baptiste and the daughter Sacagawea would eventually have after the expedition was over.  

Cece: That is cool 

The party reached the pacific ocean in November of 1805.  They made their way back and were greeted with a big celebration in St. Louis in September of 1806.  

The memory and impact of Sacagawea on this important expedition has been exaggerated, falsified, forgotten, and floundered over the years.  Little is known about her life after the expedition and it is thought she died around 1812, but there are conflicting accounts of her death.  After the exhibition she did give birth to a daughter named Lisette, who along with her brother, Jean Baptiste were ultimately placed under the guardianship of the explorer William Clark, who Sacagawea had become friends with.   

The men of the Corp of Discovery were handsomely rewarded for their efforts, receiving land, money, and titles.  Sacagawea received no compensation for her contributions to the expedition. 

Cece: That is not ok 

Although she was not adequately rewarded or compensated for her work on the journey, Sacagawea was a respected member of the corps of discovery.  Journal entries show she participated in votes along the way about key decisions and both Lewis & Clark wrote about the essential role she played in the journey in their journals.  

This brave woman did something many men wouldn’t have been able to do, all while carrying her baby on the journey.  This expedition changed the world.  It opened up the western portion of the continent to the united states, and laid the foundation for the expansion of the country.  

Today there are valid questions and concerns about whether or not France even had a right to sell the land in the Louisiana Purchase to the United States (considering it was indigenous land first) And while the Corps of Discovery was purely exploration, the expedition of Lewis and Clark did start to open up the west for colonization. Colonization of the west is part of the complicated legacy of the United States and our government’s treatment of the indigenous people who were here first.  

But Sacagwea did change the world with her contributions to this important expedition.  Before we share our poem with you about Sacagawea we have one other thing for you, just like always we encourage you to continue researching after the episode is over!   

Cece: Here are 3 of our favorite facts 

Fact #1 Sacagawea was only 16 or 17 when the Lewis and Clark expedition started.  She also had an infant baby with her on the 8000 mile journey.  

Fact #2 Sacagawea had never seen the ocean before the Corps of Discovery traveled across the continent.  When she saw the ocean she also witnessed the carcass of a beached whale.  

Fact #3 Sacagawea is possibly the most commemorated woman in American history.  According to the national park service she is the woman with the most statues in her honor.  She also has a river, boats, schools, parks, and more named for her.  She was on the US dollar coin, there are stamps with her likeness and tons of art, movies, and books that reference her.  

Cece: What was your favorite fact? 

Keep checking out more about Sacagawea, the lewis and clark expedition, the louisiana purchase, and whatever else stood out to you in this episode! 

Now before we let you go

Cece: We wrote you a poem 

With the corps of discovery and, Lewis and Clark,
She journeyed forth, igniting a spark.

Carrying your babe upon your back,
You forged ahead, driving the pack 

Across the land, through mountains high,
She sought a path beneath the sky.

An interpreter, a guide, and so much more.

Her story is one we should still explore 

From Shoshone roots to Hidatsa ties,
Her journey is tied in history’s eyes.

Though many men received great fame,
Sacagawea walked in the shadows, yet changed the game.

From statues tall to coins of gold,
Her tale ignites hearts, young and old.

We hope you enjoyed this episode on Woman who changed the world Sacagawea 

At the “check this out” we know it can be hard to know if information you find online is accurate!  We use verified sources to build the stories you hear about. 

Cece Our sources for this week's episode are 

Womens history.org, encyclopedia britannica, history.com, national park service, lewis & clark.org, monticello.org, 

Cece Thanks for listening See you next episode don’t forget to subscribe  

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sacagawea 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sacagawea 

https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/sacagawea 

https://www.nps.gov/lecl/learn/historyculture/sacagawea.htm 

https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/sacagawea/ 

https://lewis-clark.org/people/sacagawea/sacagaweas-story/ 

https://www.britannica.com/facts/Sacagawea 

 https://www.monticello.org/thomas-jefferson/louisiana-lewis-clark/origins-of-the-expedition/ 

https://www.britannica.com/event/Lewis-and-Clark-Expedition 

https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/northwest-passage