It was among the Hidatsa villages that the Lewis and Clark expedition wintered and met Sakakawea, the young Shoshone woman whose knowledge would prove vital to the journey west.
In the winter of the expedition's outward journey, the Corps of Discovery built a small fort across the river from the Mandan and Hidatsa villages and settled in to wait out the brutal cold. It was here, among the earthlodges, that they met Sakakawea — a young Shoshone woman, taken captive years before and living among the Hidatsa — who would join the expedition on its push to the Pacific.
The Guide from the Villages
Her contributions were many and are honored still: her knowledge of the western landscape and its peoples, her skill at gathering food, and, not least, the simple fact that a party traveling with a woman and infant was read by distant nations as peaceful rather than warlike. She carried her newborn son the length of the journey and back.
From the almanac's reckoning:
- Lewis and Clark wintered near the Mandan and Hidatsa villages.
- Sakakawea, a Shoshone woman living among the Hidatsa, joined the expedition.
- Lake Sakakawea and many landmarks bear her name today.
The great lake pooled behind the Garrison Dam bears her name, as do countless landmarks across the region, though her own story survives only in fragments. The almanac counts Sakakawea among the most consequential figures ever to set out from the plains.
Elsewhere in the Almanac
Statehood at Last: North Dakota Joins the Union in 1889
After decades as a territory, the northern half of Dakota entered the Union as a state in 1889, its admission so entwined with its southern twin that the order was deliberately obscured.
The Métis and the Red River Carts of Pembina
At Pembina in the north, the Métis people forged a distinct culture of the buffalo hunt and the trade trail, their squealing wooden carts once a familiar sight across the plains.
The Powwow and the Living Culture of the Plains Nations
Far from a relic, the powwow endures as a vibrant celebration of song, dance and community among the plains nations, drawing dancers and drums from across the continent.