The Truth about Sacajawea

The Truth About Sacagawea has a wonderful story to tell about Sacagawea. Kenneth Thomasma worked very hard on it. This story is adventurous and it makes you want to keep on reading on and on. You always need to believe in yourself like Sacagawea, Lewis, and Clark did when they were going through tough times. Sacagawea was very brave to go on an expedition with her young child. Sacagawea went on this expedition because she was hired as an interpreter and guide person. Lewis and Clark went up the Missisippi River and then traveled on the Snake River.

While this book is a bit short (96 pages) it is also filled with fact, as written by Lewis and Clark themselves. This is a testament to the value of Sacajawea to the expedition. A crucial part of the success of the exploration of the Louisanna Purchase. Sacajawea proved very valuable in finding food, acting as an interpreter for the exploring party and guiding them through lands that she remembered from her younger days. She was a Shoshoni girl who was captured at age 11 and married to another tribe. This book serves as a good introduction (it was mine) to a fascinating woman who's place in history, while assured, probably is not as esteemed as it actually should be. She is too often overlooked in the school books or her contributions minimized. I barely remember anything (other than her name) from my days of learning history in school. And I was astonished to find that William Clark was the guardian of her two children after her death (before the choice of her husband). On oversight this is a good book for a history buff or for someone interested in Native American History. It is also easy to understand and read and would benefit children from, say, 12 and up.

As Lewis and Clark began their journey to the Pacific Ocean, the two captains found it necessary to find a guide in order to pass over the mountains and to communicate with the Natives. As Thomasma says, "The hiring of Charbonneau and his young Shoshoni wife would prove to be a stroke of good fortune and good judgement."(p.15) As the reader progresses through the book, he or she may discover that the good luck wasn't referring to Charbonneau. In fact, the journal entries prove just the opposite. Throughout the book, it is very interesting to find the irony of hiring Charbonneau. As it turned out, this French-Canadian Trapper was nothing but a nuisance to the party. The irony shows when Sacajawea essentially becomes the guide, when she wasn't even hired, but brought on for sympathy reasons. In this view of the Charbonneau family, Charbonneau and his wife (although they are considered one with the other) are foils of one another. This biography well describes the voyage with the young mother and her husband, and their trials and helpful guidance given along the full voyage.Those who are into history should read this book without any hesitation. This book falls into different categories of history, including American History, Native American Heritage, etc. This very informative narrative would easily be liked by history fans, as well as other ordinary people. Personally, I have never been a fan of history, but this book was very fascinating to me. The structure of this account "allows readers to experience what the explorers wrote about Sacajawea." (P. 11) Thomasma presents summaries of journal entries, along with a description of the points made out by that entry. In between each entry is a summary of the other events between the respecting passages. This structure gives a very effective way of helping the reader understand Sacajawea's importance and value along the Lewis and Clark Expedition. I highly recommend this 92 page narrative not only for the historical aspect, but also for the great story line it gives to the reader, and for the respect developed by reading this account of Sacajawea, the young mother who set a good example for all people.

This book is a concise account of exactly what we know about Sacajawea's contribution to the Lewis and Clark expedition. The author's unique approach to presenting the truth is that he first uses an entry-by-entry listing, then paraphrses the journal entries, and then he makes personal comments. You draw your own conclusions!