Feat of the Legendary Sacagawea - Research Paper Example

Sacagawea Life Introduction This paper is primarily based on the world famous American legendary woman Sacagawea who led a great life fraught with incredible and astounding examples for the common public. History reports her to be a great and courageous enough woman to lead her tribe all on her own, while it was only due to her relentless struggle and riveting strength that she enabled herself to garner success in every tight and seemingly impossible spot. From leading a life of captivity as a prisoner in America to her participation in the exploration of the North Western America and becoming a great and unforgettable American legend thereafter, the life of Sacagawea serves as a true example to many even in the present world. She is phenomenally remembered as a truly ambitious leader with uncanny abilities who hugely assisted the Whites in their expedition to discover the North Western territory through the people of her own tribe named the Lemhi Shoshone, instead of becoming an obstacle in their way. The purpose of this paper is to highlight and discuss the fascinating experiences of Sacagawea’s life while taking care to mention that most of the things known about Sacagawea’s life by the world today are due to the contribution made by Sacagawea herself and other female children, who did not hesitate in detailing the personal accounts of their childhood to the White explorers. The immense popularity of Sacagawea around the globe As mentioned earlier, the Lemhi Shoshone woman Sacagawea is widely known around the globe as the fearless and influential woman who cleverly and maturely assisted the Lewis and Clark expedition by guiding them as she herself was already hugely familiar with the place and local people. History accounts the life period of Sacagawea to last from 1788 to 1812 which proposes that she died at a very young age of 24, but managed to gain much before her eyes closed forever (Hero History 2003). Her popularity can be judged by the fact that the United States government even issued the Sacagawea dollar coin in her honor owing to the critically important role she played in the Lewis and Clark expedition. She was frequently employed by the women participating in the Suffrage movement as a genuine symbol of independence, bravery, and fearlessness. Myriad statues and plagues established by the American government in the memory of Sacagawea’s life have helped much in spreading the stories about her great and unforgettable achievements throughout America and around the globe. Considering the amount of help and guidance contributed by Sacagawea, it would not be a hyperbolic statement if it is said that it would definitely have taken the White explorers many years of hard struggle in reaching to the North Western territory peacefully had it not been for the loyalty displayed by Sacagawea. Historians suggest that the way Sacagawea proved herself to be a close ally of the Whites and helped them reach in the core of the North Western area while convincing the local Indian tribes to cooperate with them in every way possible, is truly commendable and saved a lot of bloodshed and wars. Periods of Sacagawea’s life Owing to the very short life led by Sacagawea, it is prudent and often necessary to have her life divided into three periods, her early life, contributions made by her in the Lewis and Clark expedition, and later life which includes her death as well. Early life of Sacagawea according to historical accounts Though little reliable and authentic historical information can be found about Sacagawea’s early life, all historians agree on the point that she was born into the tribe of Lemhi Shoshone. The story referring to her being kidnapped by some atrocious men from another tribe in her childhood and which led to the murder of many Lemhi Shoshone men, women, and children does not have any authentic source and is largely based on word of mouth. Still, this story has many believers due to which it is considered quite credible presently. It is said that after being kidnapped along with some other young girls her own age, she and others were taken to another village where they were told to live and never look back by the cruel kidnappers. The kind of mistreatment and huge disservice done to Sacagawea and other young Shoshone women was supposedly documented by Lewis and Clark and with the help of those historical accounts, it can be judged that not much later after being kidnapped, Sacagawea was taken as a wife by one of the men living in that village along with another Shoshone woman. Reportedly, that man had won both women in some gambling contest and this huge crime signifies the type of culture practiced then and the nature of hardships endured by Sacagawea at a very early age which made her stronger than ever instead of dragging her down to darkness and nothingness. It remains an unequivocal reality that Sacagawea was a woman of caliber and strength and who had a remarkably tough skin, which helped her endure and walk through the hardest periods of her life. Myriad contributions made by Sacagawea in the North Western expedition The Lewis and Clark expedition holds phenomenal importance in the history as it happened to be the first ever transcontinental expedition made to the North Western territory and therefore, its association with the life of Sacagawea made her equally important historically and forms a huge reason why Sacagawea is as famous even presently as she was in her own time. History suggests that it all started when Lewis and Clark, two White men, made a temporary stop at the village Sacagawea was living in with her husband while being pregnant with her first child at the time. As Sacagawea’s husband approached the two White explorers for requesting them to take him along with them as a guide and translator and making him a part of their expedition, both Lewis and Clark asked him to allow one of his wives, Sacagawea, to assist them in their expedition to the North Western area. This was because Lewis and Clark had developed better understanding and familiarity with Sacagawea and also because both White explorers knew that the native Indian was nowhere close to the treasure of maturity and bravery Sacagawea owned. At one time during the famous expedition as the explorers’ party was wading through the angry river waters in a boat, Sacagawea took a quick timely action and rescued the explorers’ journals and other valuable items that had fallen into the river waters. The remarkable talents of Sacagawea were used by Lewis and Clark many times during the expedition with the help of which any chance of rebellion or war breakout was ruled out and it took the White explorers not long to develop familiarity with the native tribes they came across. Once the exploring party reached the Pacific Ocean and made a return trip afterwards, Sacagawea did not fall behind in guiding Lewis and Clark about the safest routes through many tough areas on their way back. The life of Sacagawea serves as a good example because she led an honest life and always remained ahead of others to raise awareness among the native Indians about the friendly intentions of the White explorers, thus highlighting their peaceful intentions. Later life of Sacagawea Later life of Sacagawea mostly revolves around giving up residence in the Hidatsa village and establishing life in Missouri along with her family after accepting Clark’s advice. Several rumors and stories based on the word of mouth can be found concerning the nature of Sacagawea’s death because there is not any solid historical evidence concerning the reason of her death. While some rumors suggest that Sacagawea died soon after shifting to Missouri along with her young daughter of a terrible sickness, other more reliable sources suggest that a few months after shifting to Missouri, a war broke out due to an attack made by the Indians and Sacagawea happened to be among the few survivors. However, she died later in 1812 but the death news was not accepted by the Whites and Native Americans soon following her departure. Conclusion Considering the above discussion, it remains a profound reality that Sacagawea was a woman of will power, caliber, strength, courage, and perseverance. No matter how short life she lives, with a calm and gentle disposition, brilliant brains, and mental awareness, she succeeded in earning herself an unforgettable position in a very short span of time. According to an account of Brackenridge after meeting with Sacagawea and her husband, he talked about Sacagawea as “greatly attached to the whites, whose manners and dress she tries to imitate, but she had become sickly, and longed to revisit her native country” (Butterfield 2010). Her many talents can be imagined by the fact that at very young age, she played the role of Lewis’s and Clark’s interpreter and diplomat while taking care to build a strong relationship of peace and harmony between the native American Indians and the White explorers. References: Butterfield, Bonnie. “Sacagawea: From Captive to Expedition Interpreter to Great American Legend- Her Life.” Bonniebutterfield.com. Accessed 2010. http://sacagawea.bonniebutterfield.com/NativeAmericans.html Hero History. “Sacagawea.” Imahero.com. Accessed 2003. http://www.imahero.com/herohistory/sacagawea_herohistory.htm Read More