Sacajawea

SALMON - Sacajawea's descendants plan to honor the 200th anniversary of her reunion with her native people, the Lemhi Shoshone, this summer.

After living for seven years after being captured by the Hidatsa (the Minnetares), the Lemhi Shoshone teenager is remembered by historians for her courage, fortitude and cultural knowledge, which helped sustain and steer the Lewis and Clark expedition on the explorers' historic trek to the Pacific.

"We want to honor her and her alone for what she did." said Sacajawea's great-great grand-niece Rozina George. "She was peacemaker, she was a humanitarian, a diplomat, and that is how we would like her to be perceived, as a peacemaker and humanitarian."

The ceremony will take place Aug. 17, the day William Clark recorded in his journal Sacajawea's excitement at her homecoming.

Saturday Aug. 17, 1805, William Clark wrote: "The Interpreter & Squar who were before me at Some distance danced for joyful sight, and She make signs to me that they were her nation ... . The meeting of those people was effecting, particular between Sah cah gar we ah and an Indian woman, who had been taken prisoner at the same time with her and who, had afterwards escaped from the Minnetares and rejoined her nation Š."

The Aug. 17 ceremony will include speakers from throughout the nation who have written about the Lemhi Shoshone nation and her role in the historic Lewis and Clark expedition.

"We want people there from all over who have appreciation for her, for her people, and for the beauty of that area," she said.

The celebration will happen during the annual Sacajawea Days Festival, Aug. 12 through Aug. 21, at the Sacajawea Center in Salmon.

George said Joanne Shenandoah, who dedicated a song to Sacajawea, will perform at an American Indian music concert the same day, as well as other groups.

And throughout the week, the center plans to host a variety of other activities, which will include several Lemhi Shoshone dance performances.

"It's a once in a lifetime event. We want people to be there because it is an historic event," George said. "Sacajawea has been recognized by presidents, prominent people and our nation. For the centennial in the 1900s, she was a voice for women, now she is a voice for the native people. Because of her recognition, we are given a voice. Because of her prominence, she is giving us a voice."