Who is Sacagawea?

Sacagawea (also Sakakawea, Sacajawea; ( see below) (c. 1788 ? December 20, 1812; see below for other theories about her death) was a Shoshone woman who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, in their exploration of the Western United States. She traveled thousands of miles from North Dakota to the Pacific Ocean between 1804 and 1806. She was nicknamed Janey by Clark."Captain Clark created the nickname "Janey" for Sacagawea, which he transcribed twice, November 24, 1805, in his journal, and in a letter to Toussaint, August 20, 1806. It is thought that Clark's use of "Janey" derived from "jane," colloquial army slang for girl." Anderson, Irving W. "The Sacagawea Mystique"

Reliable historical information about Sacagawea is extremely limited, but she has become an important part of the Lewis and Clark mythology in the American public imagination. The National American Woman Suffrage Association of the early twentieth century adopted her as a symbol of women's worth and independence, erecting several statues and plaques in her memory, and doing much to spread the story of her accomplishments.Fresonke, Kris and Spence, Mark David. Lewis & Clark: Legacies, Memories, and New Perspectives. University of California Press, February 25, 2004. ISBN 978-0520238220

The Sacagawea dollar coin issued by the United States Mint depicts Sacagawea and her son, Jean Baptiste. The face on the coin was modeled on a modern Shoshone-Bannock woman named Randy'L He-dow Teton; no contemporary image of Sacagawea exists.