Lemhi Shoshone
The Lemhi Shoshone (Agaidika, or "Salmon Eaters") inhabited the Lemhi River valley and surrounding mountains in present-day east-central Idaho, occupying a critical geographic position at the Continental Divide. Their encounter with the expedition in August 1805 was one of the most consequential of the entire journey: Chief Cameahwait, who turned out to be Sacagawea's brother, agreed to provide horses and guides essential for the expedition's crossing of the Bitterroot Mountains. Lewis and Clark found the Lemhi Shoshone lacking guns and metal goods but rich in geographic knowledge and horsemanship, and desperately eager to obtain firearms to defend themselves against Blackfeet and Hidatsa raiding parties. The reunion between Sacagawea and her people remains one of the most dramatic episodes in the expedition's narrative.
Portrait: Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia: Lemhi Shoshone (Chief Tindoor, NARA)
Most Mentioned in Lemhi Shoshone-tagged Entries
People
- Sacagawea (4)
- Lewis (4)
- Jefferson (2)
- Cameahwait (2)
- Cap* Lewis (2)
- Charbonneau (1)
- Mr. Chaubonee (1)
- Madison (1)
- Gallatin (1)
- Capt. Clark (1)
Places
- Missouri River (5)
- Lemhi River (3)
- Columbia River (3)
- Lemhi Pass (2)
- Horse Prairie Creek (2)
- Mandan villages (1)
- Rocky Mountains (1)
- Three Forks of the Missouri (1)
- Knife river (1)
- Jefferson (1)
Wildlife
- deer (3)
- antelope (1)
- Mountain Rams (1)
- Salmon (1)
- weasels (1)
- otter (1)
- large kind of fish (1)
- fresh water Salmon (1)
- buffalow (1)
- Elk (1)
Biography
The Lemhi Shoshone were the specific band of Northern Shoshone, led by Chief Cameahwait, who encountered the expedition at the Continental Divide in August 1805. They were Sacagawea’s birth people — the band from which she had been captured as a child.
The Lemhi Shoshone lived in the Salmon River country of present-day central Idaho, a resource-rich but geographically isolated region. They possessed many horses but few guns, making them vulnerable to raids by the better-armed Blackfeet and Hidatsa.
The band’s decision to trade horses to the expedition — influenced heavily by Sacagawea’s reunion with her brother Cameahwait — was one of the most consequential moments of the journey. Without Shoshone horses, the expedition could not have crossed the Rocky Mountains.
The Lemhi Shoshone were later removed from their ancestral lands and placed on the Fort Hall Reservation in southeastern Idaho in 1907 — a removal they have contested ever since.
Territory & Encounter Locations
Note: the longest gap between tagged appearances is about 9 months (Nov 4, 1804 → Jul 28, 1805). No journal entries during that window were explicitly tagged with this nation.
Tent of Many Voices (7)
46:37
38:39
27:56
46:09
42:25
47:56
49:52
Journal Entries (8)
Cross-Narrator Analyses
AI-assisted scholarly analyses that cite or discuss Lemhi Shoshone — showing 7 of the most recent matches.
The Shawnee Nation in the Lewis & Clark Record
Though the Corps of Discovery did not encounter the Shawnee homeland during their westward journey, the Shawnee people occupied a notable place…
The Lemhi Shoshone: Horse Lords of the Continental Divide
The Lemhi Shoshone — Sacagawea's people — held the keys to crossing the Rocky Mountains. Their horses, geographic knowledge, and a single…
Departure from the Shoshone: Four Accounts of a Pivotal Crossing
On the day the Corps of Discovery left the Lemhi Shoshone behind and turned toward the Bitterroots, four journalists recorded the moment…
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau: The Infant Traveler of the Corps of Discovery
Born at Fort Mandan in February 1805, Sacagawea's son 'Pomp' became the youngest member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, carried across…
The Flathead Salish: Allies in the Bitterroot
From the friendly council at Ross's Hole to the river that bore their name, the Flathead Salish (Tushepaws) provided the Corps of…
Cameahwait: The Shoshone Chief Who Saved the Expedition
Brother to Sacagawea and chief of the Lemhi Shoshone, Cameahwait provided the horses and guidance without which the Corps of Discovery could…
How Two Sergeants Recorded the Same Vote — November 24, 1805
The famous vote at Station Camp survives in our memory because Clark wrote a roster. Gass and Ordway, writing the same evening,…
From Heacock's Writings
3 mirrored articles by Robert Heacock that mention Lemhi Shoshone.
