Sacagawea was the daughter of a Shoshone chief. At age 12, another tribe kidnapped her. She was their prisoner until she married Toussaint Charbonneau. He was a French Canadian fur trader. In 1804, explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark hired him for their expedition.
President Thomas Jefferson wanted the explorers to find the shortest route to the Pacific Ocean. They would travel through miles and miles of unknown territory. The explorers needed to make a map of this route. On the journey, Sacagawea was very helpful. The group met up with many Native American tribes. Most of these Indians had never seen white people before. Sacagawea acted as an interpreter. She also helped to gain their trust. When the Indians saw her with the expedition, they knew the explorers were on a peaceful mission.
One day, the expedition came across a group of Shoshone Indians. Sacagawea talked to the chief. She discovered he was her long lost brother. She stayed with the expedition all the way to the Pacific Ocean and back. The expedition ended in 1806. No one knows what happened to her after that year. Some believe she might have died in 1812.
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