On this day, April 25, in 1805

The Lewis and Clark expedition reached the junction of the Missouri and the Yellow Stone River, in what is now North Dakota. They had set out about a year earlier to evaluate the land and explore the Missouri river in search of a trade route to the Pacific Ocean. Early on in their journey, Lewis and Clark were joined by a white translator and his Shoshone wife, Sacajawea, who was sold to him at a young age. Sacajewea played a crucial role in the expedition. Unfortunately, there are many romanticized fabrications about Sacajawea’s life and her contributions are often manipulated to represent “Indian” compliance with colonialism.