Women of the American West

Women of the American West — page 3 — On April 30 1803 the United States bought land in the West from France The treaty was called the Louisiana Purchase Louisiana lay between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains The land stretched from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico President Thomas Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore this new region A Shoshone woman named Sacagawea and her French trader husband joined them as interpreters Sacagawea was an important member of the team She was born in the areas that the men wanted to explore She showed them what they could eat She also helped them buy horses from her Shoshone relatives Sacagawea helped show that the explorers were peaceful It took the team more than two years to make it to the Pacific Ocean and back In part because of Sacagawea’s help Lewis and Clark’s journey had a lasting effect on the United States From the group’s journals Americans learned more about Native tribes They read of new plants 6

Women of the American West — page 4 — Oregon Trail Mormon Trail California Trail Santa Fe Trail Old Spanish Trail 200 miles 321 km Trails to the West The map highlights five of the major trails that settlers used to travel westward Which trail is the longest What present-day states do the trails pass through They learned about animals such as the prairie dog Americans thought their discoveries were exciting Many more explorers fur traders and settlers would make the journey westward The Oregon Trail In 1836 missionary Narcissa Whitman began a 3,000-mile 4,800-km journey west Narcissa took a path to Oregon that would later be called the Oregon 7

Women of the American West — page 5 — Women traveling west were incredibly resourceful They learned to use things from nature to make household items such as bowls candles clothes and

Women of the American West — page 6 — Trail Her husband Dr Marcus Whitman went with her The journey was filled with hardships Narcissa wrote about her travels in her diary Their wagon became stuck many times in creeks They ran short of food The mountain paths were so narrow that it was difficult to walk or navigate their wagon But Narcissa became the first white woman to cross the Rocky Mountains The Whitmans founded a religious mission to the Cayuse tribes Narcissa taught at 9 PERSPECTIVES White Buffalo Calf Woman A Lakota legend tells the story of the White Buffalo Calf Woman She tells the Lakota to live in peace with all living things Following her teachings the Lakota signed many treaties with the US government These treaties were designed to guarantee the Lakota land of their own But their land was still taken away In 1890 Louise Weasel Bear told how US troops killed 350 of her people near Wounded Knee Creek She spoke of the horror of seeing men women and children shot as though they were buffalo Many Lakota believe that the White Buffalo Calf Woman will return one day When she does peace will be restored

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