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JULY 14, 2000

What she was called not as important as who she was

You say toe-mah-toe and I say tom-ay-toe. You say Sacajawea and I say Sakakawea. Just what are the correct pronunciation and spelling of this famous historic figure's name, and who is she -- really?

These questions can be blamed on the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Meriwether Lewis and William Clark expedition. This celebration prompted the new dollar gold coin with Sakakawea's face on one side. Incidentally, this is the first time ever that the federal government saw fit to put a Native American woman on a coin.

There isn't a clear answer for which is correct -- Sakakawea or Sacajawea. Sakakawea is Bird Woman in Hidatsa, and Sacajawea is Boat Launcher in Shoshone.

We also are trying to find out who she is and where she came from. That will tell us which is the most correct pronunciation. Much of what we know about this famous guide is from the journals of Lewis and Clark and the oral history of both the Hidatsa and Shoshone. These oral and written documents walk hand-in-hand sometimes, and sometimes, they won't even speak to each other. I am thinking that the only way we truly can find the answer to Sakakawea's ancestry is through DNA testing of the bodies in the several graves identified as Sakakawea or Sacajawea. The stickler is finding someone who is her ancestor for the DNA match.

As I researched and interviewed people on different aspects of Sakakawea for a story, it came to me that "the grandmas" -- the elders -- probably would have a reaction quite different.

I had to chuckle out loud when I thought about the grandmas, scarves around their heads, sitting primly with their cotton dresses that hang to their calves, their buckskin moccasins wrapped high around their legs. I say chuckle because I just hear them saying "myyyyyy," drawing that last part that indicated amazement at our doings. The men, of course, who would be sitting on the opposite side of the room, would cluck their tongues and shake their heads.

You see, digging up the bones of the dead, even if it isn't literal, is disturbing their spirit, they would say. It is like looking under the dress of a respected elder while she is praying. Oops, I remember thinking when I heard that analogy. But then when the grandmas were teaching or scolding, they were always very pointed. When they looked you straight in the eye, their look could cause meltdown.

The problem with providing a definite answer to questions such as who she is and what is the correct spelling of her name, means that someone stretched the truth somewhere down the road. Who do we call liars? But then, history writing is like that because it can be a winding, illusive and a complicated process that doesn't always tell the truth -- even if it is in the journal of a credible writer.

The indigenous people of this country have found that to be true.

One of the elders who was helping with the research on the Sahnish history told us as we searched for some piece of evidence, "When I die, one of the first things I am going to ask White Shield or Son of Star (some respected ancestor) is ...?" There are questions from our past that we never will know the true answer to. That led, of course, to an interesting discussion of the hereafter. But I guess, what that question led us to believe is there are some questions that will be answered only when we meet those ancestors in the next life.

Perhaps, just an acceptance of other viewpoints is good, but probably more important is the fact that Sakakawea was one of the first indigenous women who was recognized for her good deeds. Let that be known. Also that the indigenous nations of this country had women who were brave beyond the most famous; they have ceremonies and medicines just as powerful as the men, but because the people who were the recorders of our history were men, they sometimes overlooked the women.

So, if anything can be said of Sakakawea, it might be not to get lost in who she was or what she was called -- just remember that she was one of many brave and powerful indigenous women whose history probably will remain a mystery.

Dorreen Yellow Bird is a reporter and contributor to the Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota. Her e-mail address is dyellowbird@gfherald.com or she can be reached at (701) 780-1228.

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