Historian to Share Interpretation of the Life of Sacagawea at WSU Vancouver

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Washington State University Vancouver will host Sioux historian Jeanne Eder for a Nov. 16 presentation of “Sacagawea/Sacajawea and the Lewis and Clark Expedition: American Indian Perspectives” at 7:30 p.m. in the Student Services Building, Room 110.

Eder will be joined by historian William Lang, Portland State University, and Ray Gardner, vice chairman of the Chinook Nation. The program is sponsored by the WSU Department of History and the Center for Columbia River History. Eder, who received a doctorate at WSU in Pullman, is the director of the Native Studies Program at the University of Alaska Anchorage. 

Long before the public’s current fascination with Lewis and Clark, Eder began to wonder about Sacagawea, the only woman and the only Native American to travel with the expedition. Who was she?  What did she do on the trip? How did she live the rest of her life? Finding that historians disagreed and that there were no certain answers to these questions led Eder to imagine Sacagawea from an American Indian point of view.

Today, Eder is recognized nationally as a leading interpreter of Sacagawea, a character that she has been presenting to audiences for more than 10 years. She presents Sacagawea as a mature woman looking back with some amusement on her teenage “adventure” with Lewis and Clark.

This event is free and open to the public. WSU Vancouver is located at 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave., east of the 134th Street exit from either I-5 or I-205. Parking for this event is free in any lot, except at designated parking meters or in the 30-minute parking area.