2021-03-11
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Sacagawea: Susanin from Idaho
When you go through uncharted lands, the main thing in this case is not to lose your way and not to lose the direction of movement. Ivan Susanin, a remarkable Russian peasant who acted as a guide for the Polish gentry, who in 1613 were looking for the Russian emperor ‒ the first of the Romanov dynasty, remembered this at the time. They were obviously looking for him not to congratulate him on his accession to the throne, but just the opposite ‒ to prevent him from becoming king, replacing him with his own pretender ‒ the king's son Vladislav.
Trusting a local resident, the Poles could not even think that he would lead them to the WRONG PLACE. As a result, the situation is: 'Where did you lead us? No sign of anything ... ' - ' Follow me, don't worry your brains.' Only by a miracle, a detachment of foreigners did not freeze in the December cold in the Russian forests somewhere near Kostroma. The young Mikhail Romanov successfully continued his reign, giving rise to an entire imperial dynasty, and the feat of a simple peasant was sung for centuries.
There are different types of guides. It all depends on the purpose of the mission and the accompanying circumstances. On the far side of the earth, in distant America two centuries later, an American expedition, established by President Thomas Jefferson himself, set out on a long and dangerous journey. The purpose of this mad enterprise was to find profitable commercial routes across the American continent, and along the way-to study the flora and fauna to find suitable resources for trade.
Led by a group of brave travelers, consisting of 3 dozen people, two American soldiers-Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Subsequently, the expedition went down in history under their names-the Lewis and Clark expedition.
In the path of the explorers were previously unknown lands: rivers, mountains, rocky plains, which had never been set foot by a white man. Of course, under these conditions, the travelers needed the help of the local population ‒ the Indians.
Especially since winter was approaching. Lewis and Clark decided to survive the cold season in favorable (as far as possible) conditions, establishing a fortress in the lands of the local Mandan tribe ‒ Fort Mandan.
It is here that Lewis and Clark meet Mr. Toussaint Charbonneau ‒ a French-Canadian fur trapper, trader, and adventurer. He helped the researchers as an interpreter to communicate with the natives, pointed out the right way. Along with him, two of his wives, women from the Shoshone Indian tribe, joined the expedition. One of them is the strong, resourceful and intelligent Sacagawea, whose image was later immortalized on commemorative golden US dollars as a symbol of the peaceful intentions of the Americans.
Meeting the local Shoshone Indians, Arikara, Hidatsa-Lewis and Clark tried to win them over with attention and gifts. Among the gifts was a silver Indian peace medal, which was minted specifically for this purpose. It showed a seemingly simple and peaceful picture of an American president shaking hands with an Indian chief. The reverse side was engraved with an eagle, the heraldic symbol of the United States, clutching arrows in its talons. Well, what is not a hint of future events, when hundreds of local tribes lost their ancestral lands and were driven into squalid ghettos on the outskirts of the continent?!
Sacagawea itself spoke several dialects, which helped travelers negotiate with local tribes for food and horses. Without the support of the natives, the sad outcome of the campaign would have been a foregone conclusion. An important fact was the very presence of an Indian woman in the expedition, which spoke of its non-military goals.
Thanks to the resourceful Indian woman, the researchers managed to pave the way to the Pacific Ocean, simultaneously discovering many previously unknown species of flora and fauna. For example, the charming flower Clarkia amonea.
But it is unlikely that such enthusiasm can be explained only by the desire to receive appropriate remuneration for services. There is talk of a secret romance between the ardent Shoshone and the intelligent William Clark, which suddenly broke out between them in the bosom of the wonderful American nature.
Oddly enough, Sacagawea's husband hardly cared. Perhaps he had guessed, though. In any case, ten years later, after the death of Sacagawea, he did not hesitate to transfer custody of his (his?) Two children, Jean ‒ Baptiste and Lisette, to Clark, then governor of the Missouri Territory...
American suffragists today actively use the image of Sacagawea to denote female abilities and independence. And the mints of Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco in 2000 minted the first series of walking coins with a face value of 1 dollar.
The material chosen for it is copper with a brass coating. This combination creates the effect of golden radiance, which makes the image of the Sacagawea depicted on the obverse with a child in her arms extremely expressive. The model for her was a modern-day native of Sacagawea-a 22-year-old student of the Institute of American Indian Arts, Shoshonka Randy Teton.
To date, the minting of the unique coin continues. Since 2009, the images on its reverse have replaced each other: starting with the soaring eagle (well, Americans love their symbols), the peace pipe and arrows,
and ending with outstanding representatives of modern Indian peoples: human rights activist Elizabeth Peratrovich, track and field athlete Jim Thorpe, engineer Mary Golda Ross.
At the same time, in its entire history, the golden dollars of Sacagawea were minted several times with errors. For example, in 1999, 5 thousand 'dollars of the future' came out: they hurried to put the date of the next year, 2000, on the coin. The design of this coin is slightly different from the 2000 coin, so it is considered rare.
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