[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 30 (Thursday, March 17, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 17, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                          TRIBUTE TO SACAJAWEA

  (Ms. DANNER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DANNER. Mr. Speaker, in studying the history of Missouri, we 
always pause to pay tribute to two men, Meriwether Lewis and William 
Clark, who were commissioned by President Jefferson to explore the 
West. All along the routes they took, we have marked the trails with 
their names to honor their bravery. But just in case you might have 
forgotten, it was Sacajawea--a woman--who showed them the way.
  Sacajawea was a Shoshoni, who had been captured by the Mandan tribe 
as a young girl. Because of this, she was familiar with the Rocky 
Mountains area and knew the language of several tribes. She was 16, 
married to a Canadian trader and mother to a new baby son when she 
joined the Lewis and Clark expedition.
  Sacajawea proved most valuable to the group many times, in many ways, 
The baby, whom Lewis and Clark feared would be a hindrance, also proved 
valuable because Indian tribes would not attack the group since the 
Indians knew that because they had a woman and a baby with them, they 
were not a war party.
  The journey was difficult; temperatures were often 30 to 40 degrees 
below zero, and at times the snow was almost 2 feet deep. However, 
Sacajawea was never a burden to the expedition; rather she was the 
calm, level-headed individual who keep them going.
  When the expedition ended, she lived in the village of St. Louis for 
many years before eventually returning to the Mandan tribe. She had 
five additional children and lived to be 100 years old.
  Today, Sacajawea is the most memorialized woman in the United States, 
with more monuments, statues, rivers and mountain passes named in her 
honor than any other female.
  Although, many other great women influenced Missouri's history after 
Sacajawea, none has ever captured our imagination as she has done.

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