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19 december 2005
Sacajawea's Two Death Dates
A COLLEAGUE'S REMARK that they're teaching schoolchildren a new, politically correct pronunciation of the name "Sacajawea" led Y. to discover the very interesting fact that there is widespread confusion about almost every aspect of her life--and even her death! Even by authorities.
One amateurish report says "Shoshone oral tradition says she returned to her own people and settled at the Wind River Reservation," dying not in 1812 but in 1884. A less amateurish source asserts, "Shoshone, Comanche, Mandan/Hidatsa, Gros Ventre, and other oral traditions maintain that Sacagawea lived to be an old woman (ninety-six to ninety-eight years old)." Anglo-American feminist historian Grace Raymond Hebard claimed the later date. A Shoshone site says "We have oral history about Sacajawea’s arrival to her people with the whitemen but none about her return to her homeland. We do not accept the death date of 1884."
Pictured: coin artist Glenna Goodacre and Randy'l Teton, the model for the Sacajawea coin.
Posted by ypsidixit at 19 december 2005 12:25
Comments
I've always been interested in Lewis & Clark, and I wonder if anyone there was really sure how to say her name.Clark ended up calling her "Janey". Clark cared deeply for her, and took care of her children before and after her death in 1812 so he would probably know best when he wrote "dead" by her name in a later listing of the expedition members. There was a big fat "romance" type novel out a few years that maintained the 1884 idea,and it was a good read with some convincing arguments,too.
Posted by: doug at 19 december 2005 15:26
Doug: Hmm. Interesting. I read somewhere while investigating this that "Janey" was army slang for woman.
What is also interesting is that Sacajawea was kidnapped as a girl because her people, the Shoshone, traded with Spaniards, who refused to give the Shoshone guns. But neighboring groups, the Hidatsa, the Atsina, and the Blackfeet did have guns from their dealings with white traders.
As a result, the Shoshone lost nearly all of their possessions from raids and were eventually driven from buffalo lands. "In August 1805, the Lemhi Shoshones were living in the mountains, sustained only by roots, berries and, infrequently, fish and small game. They were preparing for another buffalo-hunting venture to the plains [a previous raid had resulted in many deaths]."
"The Shoshones were most concerned about securing guns in return. Lewis wrote that Cameahwait [Sacajawea's brother) told him, “If we had guns, we could live in the country of the buffaloe and eat as our enimies do, and not be compelled to hide ourselves in these mountains and live on roots and berries as the bear do.” from this site.
Posted by: Laura at 19 december 2005 15:37
Now this is fascinating: 1-10 in Shoshoni, from Shoshoni Numbers site.
Note the very interesting relationship between the words for 4 and 8, and between 9 and 10.
1 seme'
2 wahatehwe
3 bahaitee'
4 watsewite
5 manegite
6 naafaite
7 daatsewite
8 nawiwatsewite
9 seemonowemihyande
10 seemote
Posted by: Laura at 19 december 2005 15:47
Gallery of historical photos of the Shoshone.
Posted by: Laura at 19 december 2005 16:03
Why doesn't anyone know when she died that is just silly
Posted by: YOUR MOM at 19 december 2006 13:02
My mom? Is this really my mom? Mom! What are you doing way down there in the dusty poorly-lit archives of a year ago? Just wondering! I'm glad to see you commenting here, and to answer your question, I dunno. I think what Doug said makes sense. So we can probably think of her death as in
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Posted by: Preved at 07 januari 2007 18:36
I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. I guess it doesn't bother me. Shrug. I haven't been up to anything. I haven't gotten much done today.
Posted by: Sten17055 at 07 januari 2007 19:57
I feel like a complete blank, but I don't care. Pfft. I've pretty much been doing nothing worth mentioning.
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