Sacagawea
Historical Figure

Sacagawea

Sacagawea (also Sacajawea) was a Lemhi Shoshone woman who traveled with the Lewis and Clark Expedition from Fort Mandan to the Pacific and back, with Toussaint Charbonneau and their infant Jean Baptiste. The journals record her as an interpreter and a source of local geographic knowledge, and they place her at the August 1805 meeting with Cameahwait. This page gathers journal entries, analyses, and artwork tagged to her.

Portrait: Edgar S. Paxson, 1912

0 treaties 94 total items 68 mapped locations

Related Locations

Pin color = Planning (1801–1804) Westward (1804–1805) Fort Clatsop (1805–1806) Return (1806) Post (1806–1812)
Master expedition route

Note: the longest gap between tagged appearances is about 7 months (Nov 16, 1803 → Jun 22, 1804). Sacagawea may have been present in the corps during that span but is not named in the journals.

Journal Entries (68)

John Ordway: August 17, 1806
Aug 17, 1806 · John Ordway
Travelers’ Rest – party splits: Lewis north, Clark south — John Ordway: July 2, 1806
Jul 2, 1806 · John Ordway
Building and occupying Fort Clatsop — John Ordway: December 7, 1805
Dec 7, 1805 · John Ordway
John Ordway: November 24, 1805
Nov 24, 1805 · John Ordway
Lemhi Valley, preparing to cross Bitterroots — John Ordway: August 30, 1805
Aug 30, 1805 · John Ordway
Camp Fortunate, Sacagawea reunites with Cameahwait — John Ordway: August 23, 1805
Aug 23, 1805 · John Ordway
John Ordway: August 17, 1805
Aug 17, 1805 · John Ordway
Jefferson/Beaverhead River near present-day Dillon — John Ordway: August 9, 1805
Aug 9, 1805 · John Ordway
Great Falls Portage — John Ordway: June 25, 1805
Jun 25, 1805 · John Ordway
Great Falls of the Missouri — John Ordway: June 20, 1805
Jun 20, 1805 · John Ordway
Marias River decision camp — John Ordway: June 10, 1805
Jun 10, 1805 · John Ordway
Missouri River near Musselshell River — John Ordway: May 20, 1805
May 20, 1805 · John Ordway
Missouri River Breaks area — John Ordway: May 14, 1805
May 14, 1805 · John Ordway
Departure from Fort Mandan, Missouri River — John Ordway: April 8, 1805
Apr 8, 1805 · John Ordway
Fort Mandan, preparing for departure — John Ordway: February 12, 1805
Feb 12, 1805 · John Ordway
Fort Mandan, North Dakota — John Ordway: November 12, 1804
Nov 12, 1804 · John Ordway
Missouri River near Boonville area — John Ordway: June 22, 1804
Jun 22, 1804 · John Ordway
Clark: September 6, 1806
Sep 6, 1806 · William Clark
Clark: August 28, 1806
Aug 28, 1806 · William Clark
Clark: August 21, 1806
Aug 21, 1806 · William Clark
Clark: July 17, 1806
Jul 17, 1806 · William Clark
Clark: July 14, 1806
Jul 14, 1806 · William Clark
Clark: July 13, 1806
Jul 13, 1806 · William Clark
Clark: July 6, 1806
Jul 6, 1806 · William Clark
Clark: June 25, 1806
Jun 25, 1806 · William Clark
Lewis: May 28, 1806
May 28, 1806 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: April 28, 1806
Apr 28, 1806 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: April 22, 1806
Apr 22, 1806 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: April 16, 1806
Apr 16, 1806 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: January 10, 1806
Jan 10, 1806 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: August 22, 1805
Aug 22, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: August 20, 1805
Aug 20, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: August 15, 1805
Aug 15, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: August 8, 1805
Aug 8, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: July 22, 1805
Jul 22, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: July 19, 1805
Jul 19, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: June 24, 1805
Jun 24, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: June 19, 1805
Jun 19, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: June 20, 1805
Jun 20, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Clark: June 16, 1805
Jun 16, 1805 · William Clark
Lewis: June 16, 1805
Jun 16, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: June 18, 1805
Jun 18, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Clark: June 14, 1805
Jun 14, 1805 · William Clark
Clark: June 15, 1805
Jun 15, 1805 · William Clark
Lewis: June 10, 1805
Jun 10, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: May 16, 1805
May 16, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: May 20, 1805
May 20, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Clark: May 14, 1805
May 14, 1805 · William Clark
Clark: May 13, 1805
May 13, 1805 · William Clark
Lewis: April 13, 1805
Apr 13, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: April 9, 1805
Apr 9, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Lewis: February 8, 1805
Feb 8, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Clark: September 26, 1804
Sep 26, 1804 · William Clark
Meriwether Lewis: November 16, 1803
Nov 16, 1803 · Meriwether Lewis
William Clark: August 17, 1806
Aug 17, 1806 · William Clark
Meriwether Lewis: March 23, 1806
Mar 23, 1806 · Meriwether Lewis
William Clark: July 25, 1806
Jul 25, 1806 · William Clark
William Clark: November 24, 1805
Nov 24, 1805 · William Clark
William Clark: December 25, 1805
Dec 25, 1805 · William Clark
William Clark: January 6, 1806
Jan 6, 1806 · William Clark
William Clark: September 4, 1805
Sep 4, 1805 · William Clark
Meriwether Lewis: July 28, 1805
Jul 28, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Meriwether Lewis: August 17, 1805
Aug 17, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
William Clark: September 16, 1805
Sep 16, 1805 · William Clark
Meriwether Lewis: February 11, 1805
Feb 11, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
Meriwether Lewis: April 7, 1805
Apr 7, 1805 · Meriwether Lewis
William Clark: October 26, 1804
Oct 26, 1804 · William Clark
William Clark: November 4, 1804
Nov 4, 1804 · William Clark

Cross-Narrator Analyses

Analyses that cite or discuss Sacagawea — showing 24 of the most recent matches.

Figure: Sacagawea

Sacagawea: The Shoshone Interpreter of the Corps of Discovery

Recruitment at Fort MandanSacagawea entered the expedition record indirectly, through her husband. On November 4, 1804, Clark’s journal for that day records…

July 30, 1805

Sacagawea’s Capture Site and a Captain Lost Among Beaver Dams

The entries for July 30, 1805, ascending Jefferson's River from the Three Forks, reveal a sharp divergence in what each narrator chose…

December 25, 1805

A Damp Christmas at Fort Clatsop: Two Enlisted Men Mark the Day

The journals of Patrick Gass and John Ordway for December 25, 1805 read, at first glance, as if one were transcribed from…

May 26, 1806

A Finished Canoe, an Empty Larder: Four Voices at Camp Chopunnish

The entries of May 26, 1806, capture the Corps of Discovery in suspended motion at Camp Chopunnish along the Clearwater, waiting for…

April 28, 1806

A Kettle Refused, a Sword Accepted: Four Voices at Yelleppit’s Camp

The 28th of April 1806 found the returning Corps of Discovery encamped near the mouth of the Walla Walla River, in extended…

May 25, 1806

A Sweat That Failed and a Bear of Many Colors

The entries of May 25, 1806, written from the Long Camp on the Clearwater, illustrate how dramatically the four expedition diarists could…

May 18, 1806

An Eagle’s Salmon and a Bear of Many Colors: Four Voices at Camp Chopunnish

The entries of May 18, 1806, offer an unusually clear window into how the four journalists of the Lewis and Clark expedition…

May 16, 1806

Bears, Roots, and a Harmless Snake: Four Voices at Camp Chopunnish

The entries of May 16, 1806 offer an unusually clear window into how the expedition's four active journalists divided narrative labor during…

July 9, 1806

Cold Rain on the Divided Plains: Two Camps, One Expedition

By July 9, 1806, the Corps of Discovery had divided into multiple parties to explore the country between the Continental Divide and…

April 16, 1806

Crossing the Columbia for Horses: Four Pens at The Dalles

The entries of April 16, 1806, capture the Lewis and Clark expedition at a logistical pivot: the Columbia would no longer carry…

December 3, 1805

Elk Meat, Wapato Roots, and a Name Carved in Pine

The journal entries for December 3, 1805, capture a single day at the peninsula where the Corps of Discovery would soon establish…

June 25, 1806

Fir Trees Aflame: Four Accounts of a Single Day on Hungry Creek

The expedition's June 25, 1806 entries offer a striking case study in how four men sharing the same camp produced four very…

May 11, 1806

Four Pens, One Council: Diplomacy and Doctoring Among the Chopunnish

The 11th of May 1806 finds the Corps of Discovery encamped among the Chopunnish (Nez Perce), reclaiming horses left the previous autumn…

May 8, 1806

Hunger’s Evidence: Pine Bark, Fish Traps, and Diplomatic Strain on the Kooskooskee

The entries of Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and John Ordway for May 8, 1806, document the same morning of hunting and the…

July 3, 1806

Parting at Travelers’ Rest: Four Voices on a Pivotal Division

July 3, 1806 marked a tactical decision: the deliberate division of the Corps into two parties at Travelers' Rest, with Captain Lewis…

December 28, 1805

Salt, Storms, and a Beached Whale: Three Voices at Fort Clatsop

This analysis was generated with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor.The journal entries dated 28 December 1805 present an unusual…

August 4, 1806

Sawyers by Moonlight: Four Voices on a Near-Drowning Above Milk River

The journals of August 4, 1806, offer a striking case study in how four men sharing the same river on the same…

July 13, 1806

Spoiled Caches and Parting Ways: Four Voices at the Three Forks

July 13, 1806 finds the Corps of Discovery operating in two widely separated theaters. At the Great Falls, Meriwether Lewis reopens the…

May 24, 1806

The Sweat Hole at Camp Chopunnish: Four Voices on Frontier Medicine

The journals of May 24, 1806 offer an unusually rich opportunity to compare narrators, because all four diarists present at Camp Chopunnish…

January 8, 1806

The Whale at Tillamook Head: Three Vantage Points on a Single January Day

The journal entries for January 8, 1806, capture the Lewis and Clark expedition at a moment of geographic and narrative dispersal. Clark,…

August 9, 1806

Two Camps, Two Registers: Skins, Goose Berries, and a Missing Pair

The August 9, 1806 entries capture the Corps of Discovery still bisected, with Captain Lewis encamped upriver mending clothes and waiting, and…

July 14, 1806

Two Camps, Two Worlds: Caching at the Falls While Clark Swamps Among Beaver Dams

By mid-July 1806, the expedition had split into detachments pursuing separate routes back across the continent. The journal entries for July 14…

July 6, 1806

Two Captains, Two Continents: The Divided Corps on Divergent Trails

By July 6, 1806, Captains Lewis and Clark had divided the Corps of Discovery to explore separate return routes. Lewis pressed eastward…

August 17, 1806

Two Departures at the Mandan Villages: Colter Turns Back, Sheheke Heads East

The entries of Patrick Gass and John Ordway for August 17, 1806, document the same sequence of events near the Mandan villages:…

From the Heacock Memorial Archive

7 lewis-clark.org articles that mention Sacagawea, preserved here for Robert Heacock’s photography. The articles were written by that site’s contributing authors.

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