| Sacajawea |
Sacagawea |
Sakakawea |
She has been called by many names. Strong feelings persist among her admirers about the spelling, pronunciation and meaning of her name. |
"At
that time the Indians did not necessarily name their children at
an early age. Usually it was something that happened in their life
that gave them a name. The first time her name appears in the journals
is on April 7, 1805. When it appears, it is spelled out as Sacagawea,.
they write below that on the map, " Bird Woman". The Hidatsa evidently
used both the ka and the ga in one word, where as others want to
say that it is Sakakawea, using the k sound. The name really means
"Crow Woman". Along comes the name Sacajawea. Early Shoshone translators
and Shoshone speaking people said that that referred to her traveling
with the boats, that there are words in their language that if you
put them together you could get "Boat Launcher" or "One Who Travels
with the Boats."
| -- Bob
Saindon, Historian |
"Scholars generally agree that from the journals her name must
have been pronounced Sacagawea. However in popular cultures and
through generations of Idahoans have always called her Sacajawea".
| -- Carol
Lynn MacGregor, Historian |
"Lewis
and Clark and the other men wrote her name exactly the way they
thought it sounded. We have to remember that a Frenchman was pronouncing
her name, so they wrote her name phonically in the journals. If
you look at the name you can see the g spelling, Sah cah gah we
a".
Captain Clark created the nickname "Janey" for Sacagawea. It is
thought that Clark's use of "Janey" derived from "jane", colloquial
army slang for girl.
Check out Lewis
and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation for more information on
her name.
The Journey of Sacagawea
Lewis
& Clark In Idaho
Videos Available
