The Journey of Sacagawea is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2003.
It is about the life of the Native American woman Sacagawea (1788-1812), with special focus on the time when she was a guide and an interpreter for the Lewis and Clark expedition (1804-1806).
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Producer and writer: Lori Joyce
** Director and editor: Alan Austin
** Co-producer: John Crancer
** Host and narrator: Rita Coolidge
** The voice of Meriwether Lewis: Richard Klautsch
** The voice of William Clark: Matthew Clark
** Production: Idaho Public Television
** Language: English
** Subtitles: English
** Run time: 56 minutes
Several persons are interviewed in this film. Here are the names of the participants. Listed in alphabetical order:
** Rose Ann Abrahamson – a descendant of Sacagawea
** Keith Bear – a Hidatsa musician
** Calvin Grinnell – a historian
** Levi Hott – a Nez Perce tribe member
** Barbara Kubik – a historian
** Diane Mallickan - a Shoshone interpreter
** Amy Mossett – a Hidatsa storyteller
** Robert Saindon – a historian
** Ken Thomasma – an author
Sacagawea was born around 1788 as a member of the Shoshone tribe.
In 1800, when she was 12, she was kidnapped by a group of warriors from a different tribe: the Hidatsa tribe. She lived with them for a while.
Around 1803, when she was 15, she was married to a French-Canadian trapper Toussaint Chardonneau, who was much older than her. He was born in 1767.
The nature of this marriage is not certain. Did he want to marry her? The answer is probably yes. Did she want to marry him? We do not know. We cannot answer this question.
According to one source, Toussaint won her in a game of cards! This story might be true. Whatever the truth about the marriage is, she stayed with him for the rest of her life (until 1812).
In 1804, the Lewis and Clark expedition reached the land of the Hidatsa tribe. The expedition was on the way to the west. The purpose of the expedition was to find a good route to the Pacific Ocean.
Lewis and Clark hired Toussaint as a guide and interpreter because he spoke the language of the Hidatsa tribe.
Lewis and Clark also hired his wife Sacagawea because she was from the Shoshone tribe. They knew they were going to pass through the land of the Shoshone tribe on the way to the Pacific Ocean.
They figured that she would be useful when the expedition reached the land of the Shoshone tribe. They hired her as a guide and an interpreter.
The members of the expedition remained in the land of the Hidatsa tribe during the winter 1804-1805. In the spring of 1805, the expedition continued its journey towards the west.
When they left the land of the Hidatsa tribe, Sacagawea was pregnant. In 1805, during the journey, she gave birth to a child, a boy, who was named Jean Baptiste Charbonneau.
Once the child was born, Sacagawea continued her job as a guide and an interpreter for the expedition, while she carried her son on her back.
When they reached the land of the Shoshone tribe, Sacagawea met her brother Cameahwait who was the chief of the tribe. She had not seen him since she was kidnapped five years before, in 1800.
The Shoshone tribe helped the members of the expedition by giving them equipment to continue the journey towards the west.
When the expedition reached the land of the Nez Perce tribe, there was a dangerous moment. Some warriors of this tribe wanted to kill Lewis and Clark and all the other members of the expedition.
Sacagawea managed to persuade the warriors to drop this plan and allow the members of the expedition to live.
Apparently, the presence of a woman and a young child convinced the warriors that this was not a military campaign. It was a civilian expedition. Lewis and Clark were explorers; they were not conquerors.
After a long and difficult journey, the expedition finally reached its target: the Pacific Ocean. From this point, the members turned around and returned to the starting point. The expedition was concluded in 1806.
When the expedition was concluded, Sacagawea and her husband Toussaint lived in different locations.
In 1812, she gave birth to a second child, a daughter, who was named Lizette Charbonneau.
She died in December of that year, shortly after giving birth to her daughter. She did not live a long life. When she died, she was only 24 or perhaps 25.
What happened to the people who were close to her?
** Her brother Cameahwait died in 1812
** Her husband Toussaint lived until 1843
** Her son Jean Baptiste lived until 1866
** Her daughter Lizette lived until 1832
What is her legacy? Why is she regarded as an important person? The answer is she played an important role for the Lewis and Clark expedition.
It seems safe to say that if she had not been there as a guide and an interpreter, the expedition would not have been able to reach its target. Her role as a guide and an interpreter was vital to the success of the expedition.
What about the expedition? What is the legacy of the expedition? What is the importance of this expedition? Different people have different answers to this question.
According to traditional American history, the Lewis and Clark expedition is a famous and significant chapter of early American history.
According to some observers, the expedition was not very important, because it did not find a useful route to the Pacific Ocean. The route they took was too far to the north. The landscape was unfriendly.
A useful route to the western part of the continent would have to be further to the south where the landscape was more friendly.
What is so special about Sacagawea? Why does she deserve to be remembered? Why is she often described as a hero?
The answer is she was the only female member of the Lewis and Clark expedition. And she played a vital role as a guide and an interpreter during the expedition. Without her, the expedition might have failed.
She was a Native American woman who gave birth to a child during the expedition. Once the child was born, she continued her role as a guide and an interpreter, while she carried her son on her back. She was not a burden for the expedition. She was an asset.
Did she change the world?
No.
Did she change the USA?
No.
But she showed that a Native American woman could make a significant contribution to a big project which faced many difficulties and obstacles.
This is why she deserves to be remembered. This is why she deserves a place in American history.
What was the purpose of the expedition? The official purpose was to explore the western part of the continent; to find a useful route to the Pacific Ocean. And why was this so important?
The expedition was launched by the American president Thomas Jefferson, because he had a plan for the future. The plan was to expand the territory of the United States all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
Lewis and Clark were explorers. They were not conquerors. Their mission was to explore, not to kill the Native American population.
But the ultimate and secret agenda of the expedition was to lay the foundation for the total conquest of the western part of the continent.
This plan was not revealed and not implemented while Sacagawea was alive. This plan was slowly revealed and implemented when she was no longer alive.
What do reviewers say about this film?
On IMDb it has a rating of 72 percent.
This rating is quite good. But in my opinion, it is not good enough. The topic is interesting. The story deserves to be told. And in this film, it is done very well.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
PS. According to a legend, Sacagawea did not die in 1812. The legend says she lived a long life. It says she lived until 1884. But given that she was born around 1788, the legend is not likely to be true.
REFERENCES
# 1. Books
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West
By Stephen E. Ambrose
(1996)
Path to the Pacific:
The Story of Sacagawea
By Neta Lohnes Frazier
(2007)
This volume is written for young readers
(12-15 years)
Sacagawea: A Biography
By April R. Summit
(2008)
Sacagawea: Courageous Indian Guide
By William Sanford and Carl R. Green
(2013)
This volume is written for young readers
(10-14 years)
The Life of Sacagawea
By Caitie McNeney
(2016)
This volume is written for young readers
(9-11 years)
# 2. The following item is available online
David Plotz
“Why Lewis and Clark don’t matter - and never did,”
Slate Magazine
02 October 2006
# 3. Film and video
If you go to YouTube and type in the name Sacagawea, you will find several short items about this person.
*****
This portrait of Sacagawea carrying her child
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau on her back
was created by the American artist
Robert Schoeller
(born 1950)
*****
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