Not much is known of Sacajawea.  She was the daughter of a Shoshone chief who was born around 1787 in Lemhi County, Idaho.  At around 12 years old, she was captured by the Hidatsa which was an enemy tribe of the Shoshone.  Sacajawea was sold to a French-Canadian trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau, who made her one of his wives.

In November 1804, Charbonneau convinced Lewis and Clark to hire him and his wife to be guides.  Charbonneau had told Lewis and Clark that both he and his wife would be valuable additions to the group known as the Corps of Discovery.  Charbonneau knew the Northwest well as he trapped animals there for a living and Sacajawea spoke Shoshone, Hidatsa, and Mandan.  Even though Sacajawea was pregnant throughout the expedition, Lewis and Clark found her invaluable.  She knew how to track animals, cook, and live in the wilderness.  Interestingly enough, Lewis nor Clark were impressed with Charbonneau.  During the expedition Sacajawea gave birth to a boy nicked named Pompey.  Everyone in the expedition became quite fond of the little boy.  In fact, Lewis and Clark offered to adopt Pompey.

Sacajawea stayed with Charbonneau for the rest of her life.  After the expedition in 1806, she and her little family, including Pompey, moved to Fort Manuel in what is now Kenel, South Dakota.  She had two more children, a girl and another boy.  She was well liked at the fort.  She was known as a hard worker.  She died at the fort around 1812 from a fever.