Why is sacagawea a hero

An explorer known as Captain Clarke wrote that in order to pronounce the Indian words correctly, every letter sound must be made. There has been much debate on the spelling of the young explorer's name, since the letters to not match the sound ex.

Sacagawea, who spoke 5 tribal languages as well as French, was the answer to a safe and successful journey. Her presence signified that they were not a war party because they had a woman with them.

Her bearing a child further signified a peaceful trade party. Historians believe that without Sacagawea, Louis and Clark never would have been able to explore the West in the. Home Page Sacagawea Hero. Sacagawea Hero Good Essays. Open Document. Essay Sample Check Writing Quality. Around , a group of Shoshone Indians was leaving their home to go to the Rocky Moutains which is Idaho and Montana today. Along with the Indians was a 12 year old girl named Sacagawea.

She is one of the most famous Indian women who has ever lived. Many young Native American women have heard of her and would like to make an impression as much as she has.

Some people may not even know who she is but most Americans know exactly who she is. Sacagawea is a hero and will live forever in our minds. The Shoshone Indians and Sacagawea were traveling eastward down the great plains, where large herds of buffalo lived. Once the Shoshone Indians had arrived they set up camp and after a while the Shoshone were driven out from the Plains by enemy tribes who were armed with guns.

She helped the Lewis and Clark expedition to survive. She collected food for everybody so the people on the expedition could carry on.

When a boat hit Sacagawea she still did her duties for others to be able to stay alive. While she was on the expedition, she had a baby to carry around so it made it even more difficult to help the expedition. Although there were obstacles in Sacagawea's way, she was still brave and got it done.

Sacagawea was also a determined person. She traveled thousands of miles with a newborn baby on her back. Even with a very high fever she still made sure she was helpful to Louis and Clark and her baby was fed. Sacagawea and her helpers traveled through many dangerous places but they did not even consider going back. Most of all, she wanted to survive the journey to see her people, the Shoshones tribe. But Jefferson wanted more from the explorers who would search for the passage: He charged them with surveying the natural landscape, learning about the varied Native American tribes and making maps.

He turned to his secretary, Meriwether Lewis , to head the Corps of Discovery. Lewis, 29, chose his friend and former military superior, year-old William Clark , as his co-captain. After more than a year of planning and initial travel, Lewis and Clark and their men reached the Hidatsa-Mandan settlement—about 60 miles northwest of present-day Bismarck, North Dakota—on November 2, , when Sacagawea was about six months pregnant. Charbonneau spoke French and Hidatsa; Sacagawea spoke Hidatsa and Shoshone two very different languages.

Through this translation chain, communications with the Shoshone would be possible, and Lewis and Clark recognized that as crucial: the Shoshone had horses they would need to purchase. On April 7, Sacagawea, the baby and Charbonneau headed west with the 31 other Corps members. Within a month, a near-tragedy earned Sacagawea particular respect. The boat in which she was sailing nearly capsized when a squall hit and Charbonneau, the navigator, panicked.

In appreciation, Lewis and Clark named a branch of the Missouri for Sacagawea several days later. Clark, in particular, developed a close bond with Sacagawea as she and Baptiste would often accompany him as he took his turn walking the shore, checking for obstacles in the river that could damage the boats.

She could identify roots, plants and berries that were either edible or medicinal. This eased tensions that might otherwise have resulted in uncooperativeness at best, violence at worst. After reaching the Pacific, Sacagawea returned with the rest of the Corps and her husband and son—having survived illness, flash floods, temperature extremes, food shortages, mosquito swarms and so much more—to their starting point, the Hidatsa-Mandan settlement, on August 14, Three years later, in fall , Sacagawea, Charbonneau and Baptiste ventured to St.

Louis, where Charbonneau was taking the kind-hearted Clark up on an offer: Clark would provide the Charbonneau family with land to farm if the parents would agree to let Clark educate Baptiste. Even though she was pregnant with her first child, Sacagawea was chosen to accompany them on their mission.

Lewis and Clark believed that her knowledge of the Shoshone language would help them later in their journey. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Skip to content Home Popular articles What makes Sacagawea a hero? Popular articles.