Sacajawea Island

Sacajawea Island. . On July 3, 1984 this island was named in honor of Sacajawea, the Shoshoni Indian girl who accompanied the Lewis and Clark expedition from the Mandan villages to the Pacific Coast. , Sacajawea was born about 1788 in southwest Montana, At 12 years old she was taken from her home by the Minnetaree Indians and take to their Mandan villages near Bismark, North Dakota. It was from these Mandan villages that she and her French husband, Toussaint Charbonneau, joined the expedition in 1805. She was 16 years old with an infant son, Pomp, when she began her trek that would lead her into history. , As a member of the expedition she proved invaluable to Lewis and Clark, and their company. She interpreted, secured horses, procured native plants and identified certain land marks. Her presence, with her infant son, helped enhance a feeling of peacefulness to the expedition and testimony to her contributions are found throughout the journals of Lewis and Clark. (In the summer of 1805 the Lewis and Clark expedition spent about a month in this vicinity,)