#sacagawea

Because I’m a bored history girly, I present to you; Historical figures and their Night at the Museum counterparts.

Native American historian Ned Blackhawk joins WIRED to answer the internet's burning questions about the cultures and histories of the indigenous peoples of North America. Why were reservations established and who lives on them? Do reservations have their own laws and police? How did What was the infamous "Trail of Tears?" What were conflicts between tribes like prior to the arrival of Europeans? Did the United States ever lose a war with a Native American tribe? What was agriculture and raising children like in native cultures? Answers to these questions and many more await on WIRED's Native American Support.

0:00 Native American Support with Ned Blackhawk

0:12 Reservations

1:19 Casinos

2:53 Map of tribal boundaries in the US

4:01 Navajo Code Talkers

4:40 The Trail of Tears

5:32 Andrew Jackson and forced native nation migration

6:48 Origins of the stereotypical native aesthetic

8:16 Powwows

10:00 The 1960s Red Power movement

11:46 Indian, Native American, or Indigenous?

12:17 Native agriculture

13:34 Native conflicts before European contact

14:12 Raising children in Native American cultures

15:26 Sacagawea’s journey

17:16 Did the Iroquois really use the "Seventh Generation Principle"

18:32 Boarding schools

19:47 Remembering Red Cloud

20:57 The trappings of sovereignty

21:53 Did the United States ever lose a war with a Native American tribe?

22:28 The (controversial) Native American Church

23:48 Population growth

Voices of the Ancestors (facebook)

In the winter of 1805, a teenage Shoshone girl gave birth in a rugged fort, and just weeks later, began walking across a continent with her newborn strapped to her back to help forge a nation.

Her name was Sacagawea. She was the wife of Toussaint Charbonneau, a translator hired for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. While her husband was the one officially on the payroll, it was Sacagawea who would prove to be indispensable.

Carrying her infant son, Jean Baptiste, she was a symbol of peace. Her presence with the Corps of Discovery signaled to Native tribes that their mission was not a war party, opening doors that would have otherwise remained closed.

Her quiet competence was astounding. On May 14, 1805, when a sudden squall capsized one of their boats, it was Sacagawea who calmly reached into the water to rescue the expedition's priceless journals, maps, and instruments while the men panicked.

Months later, as the expedition faced starvation and was desperate for horses to cross the Rocky Mountains, they encountered a band of Shoshone. In a moment that feels like an act of providence, the chief of the tribe turned out to be her own brother, Cameahwait, whom she hadn't seen since she was captured as a child.

This miraculous reunion saved the expedition. Because of her, they got the horses and guides needed to survive the mountains.

Her knowledge of edible plants kept the men from starving, and her guidance through the wilderness was invaluable. She did all of this without being an official member of the party.

Night at the Museum (2006, Shawn Levy)