In addition, the Shoshone Indians have many stories in their oral tradition about Sacajawea, and many living Shoshone trace their ancestry to her. Nevertheless, there is much controversy surrounding the life of this intrepid woman.
Captured by Hidatsa War Party
In 1800, when the Shoshone girl, Boinaiv, was about 12 years old, her band was camped at the Three Forks of the Missouri River in Montana when they encountered some Hidatsa warriors. The warriors killed four men, four women and a number of boys. Several girls and boys, including Boinaiv, were captured and taken back to the Hidatsa village. At the Hidatsa camp, Boinaiv was given the name Sacagawea by her captors, which means "Bird Woman." There is more than a little argument over the derivation and spelling of Sacajawea's name. Sacajawea is a name meaning "Boat Launcher" in Shoshone. The Original Journals of Lewis and Clark support a Hidatsa origin. On May 20, 1805, Lewis wrote of "Sah-ca-ger-we-ah or Bird Woman's River" as a name for what is now Crooked Creek in north-central Montana. Sometime between 1800 and 1804, Sacajawea and another girl were sold to (or won in a gambling match by) trader Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian who was residing among the Hidatsa.
