Sacajawea
by Joseph Bruchac
Themes: cultural diversity, history, identity
Summary: Sacajawea, a Shoshoni Indian interpreter, peacemaker, and guide, and William Clark alternate
in describing their experiences on the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Northwest.
Background for Teacher: The famous expedition of the Corps of Discovery led by Captain
Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark began near what is now known as Wood River, Illinois in
1804. Thirty-three people joined Lewis and Clark on the expedition that reached the Pacific Ocean in
1805 and returned to the site of origin in 1806. The trail they followed is approximately 3,700 miles long
and passes through portions of the states known today as Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, South
Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
Initiating Activities
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Ask students what they know about the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Ask students what they think conditions were like along the trail Lewis and Clark followed.
Ask students to name the Native American (Indian) tribes that they know.
Locate St. Louis, Missouri on a map. Locate the mouth of the Columbia River at the Pacific. What is
the distance between the two?
Critical and Creative Thinking
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Which President asked Lewis and Clark to map a route to the Pacific Ocean?
Who was Sacajawea and what role did she play on the journey?
How did Lewis and Clark treat the Indians they encountered on their journey?
Why did Lewis consider it so important to document everything on their journey?
How is Lewis and Clark’s treatment of the Indians a model for us as Christians when meeting
people of other cultures?
Responses:
1. Pretend you are on the Lewis and Clark expedition and you have just met a young Shoshone man
or woman your age. Write a journal entry about the encounter. How are you alike? Different?
What did you learn from each other?
2. Create a tapa cloth depicting a scene from the Lewis and Clark expedition. Color a scene with
crayons (not markers) on a single side of a brown paper grocery bag. When the drawing is finished take an unlighted candle, hold it sideways, and rub wax over the entire drawing.
Crumple the paper into a ball. Unfold and place between two sheets of newspaper and iron with
a warm iron. This will give the finished product the look and feel of an old document. (If ironing
is not an option, simply unfold the crumpled paper and flatten with hands.)
3. A Native American prayer form is to greet the dawn from the four directions. Create a movement
prayer greeting the day from each of the four directions.
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