They Guided Them Here

Good Evening.

Why don't we do something along the same lines today.  Pocahontas and her plight got me thinking about other Indian or Native women, whichever term you prefer, so let's follow up a bit.  Two others came to mind--Angelina in East Texas and Sacajawea in the Louisiana Territory.  I know which one is most familiar to you all.

So I'll start with the lesser known Angelina.  As usual, the dates are hard to nail down, but she was a Caddo woman who came into contact with the Spanish and French in the late 17th century.  They called her Angelina because of her disposition, and we continue the tradition, as her real name is still a mystery.  Not much more is known of her.  The Europeans considered her personable and wise.  She was able to communicate with all the people she met.  And, as the Caddo were resourceful traders, Angelina may have traveled all over the Province of Tejas (the Caddo word for friendly) y Coahuila, which is now northern Mexico.  As for her actual private life, you have to fill in the blanks on your own. 

In general terms, most Caddo women married, had their children on the river in a birthing hut, ate corn and venison and fish, helped set the trot lines their people invented, and were considered on a par with the men.  They even served as chiefs.  Whether Angelina was a chief, or even wife and mother, we do not know.  But she was an intelligent leader, who managed to keep the peace between Texas natives and soldier explorers during her time.

The Spanish considered her contributions significant enough to name a river and a land grant for her.  In Angelina County, Texas, there is a statue in her memory.  But remember, there are no physical portraits upon which to base her likeness.

Sacajawea is the much better known of the two.  This Shoshone woman, who was married to the French trapper Charboneau, stepped into the pages of history with the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804.  These explorers had reached a wintry leg of their journey, still searching for the headwaters of the Missouri and in need of an interpreter.  Sacajawea and Charboneau were able to help, as she did not allow the impending birth of her son, Jean-Batiste, to hinder her activities.  She and her husband and little son spent several months with the Discovery Corps, while she interpreted Indian languages, guided over water and land, bartered for horses, and even retrieved items lost when a canoe capsized.  The men were very impressed with her intelligence and quickness.

The events surrounding Sacajawea's life and death after the journey with Lewis and Clark are often hotly debated.  Most historians agree that she later brought her son and her daughter to Missouri to place one or both under the guardianship of William Clark.  Her death seems to have taken place soon after, around 1812 or 1813.  Yet some argue that she did not die until many years later.  At any rate, her friend noted in his 1825 information concerning fellow travelers that the woman was dead.  Today, even her burial place is uncertain.

So here are two aboriginal women who helped make life possible in America.  Without them, would Texas have been settled by the Spanish?  The West explored by the Americans?  What of U.S. expansion at all?  Without them, would we even be here?

Some would argue that this doesn't necessarily place them in the best light, as European success was oftentimes a harbinger of native destruction.  Think about it.  What would you have done in the same situations?

Goodnight.

VK