Sacajawea
Children's Song Lyrics and Sound Clip
Jonathan Sprout
Sacajawea (1787? - 1812 or 1884) met Lewis & Clark near the present-day Bismarck, North Dakota. She has become a legend in part for the strength with which she faced hardships on the difficult expedition.
After several months of travel, the group was near starvation and in need of horses to help carry their heavy gear over the Rocky Mountains. It was Sacajawea who helped arrange the trade for horses with the chief of the Shoshone Indian tribe -- her brother -- whom she had not seen since she had been kidnapped by another Indian tribe six years earlier.
Long time ago, an Indian girl
Stood upon the banks of the Missouri.
When up the river came Lewis & Clark
On an expedition in a hurry.
There were in search of a northwest passage.
Needing an Indian guide,
They asked this girl to join their party
On an April day in 1805.
REFRAIN:
Sacajawea -- Indian girl
Young and smart and brave
Sacajawea, Sacajawea
Helping them on their way.
There was adventure and excitement
As they paddled 'cross the northern plains
But from the shadows of the Rockies
It looked as though their trip was in vain
With heavy burdens on aching feet
They could not cross the Great Divide.
Until they met with Shoshone Indians
And they were saved by their Indian guide.
REFRAIN
"I travel with the White Man.
We come to you in peace.
They bring you beads and treasures
From a land they call the East.
We wish to trade for horses
To help us on our way.
Now, brother, pass the pipe of peace
Let us celebrate today."
They never found a northwest passage,
Although they stood where the land meets the sea.
From the Pacific, they headed homeward
Across their land of discovery.
Lewis & Clark -- famous explorers.
Wrote of their adventures for the world.
Their expedition might not have made it
But for the grace of an Indian girl.
© Kanukatunes (ASCAP) & CurlyJams (BMI). All rights reserved. Used with permission.
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