Randy'L He-dow Teton

Randy'L He-dow Teton is the Shoshone woman who posed as the model for the US Sacagawea dollar coin, first issued in 2000. She is the first Native American woman to appear on an American coin.

Biography

Randy'L He-dow Teton is a Shoshone-Bannock/Cree from the Lincoln Creek district of the Fort Hall Reservation in Southeastern Idaho. Ms. Teton is the second oldest of five siblings and the daughter of Randy Leo Teton and Bonnie C. Wuttunee-Wadsworth (Shoshone-Cree), both members of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe. Her given middle name is He-dow, which is pronounced "He-dough" in the Shoshone language, and means Meadowlark.

He-dow is pronounced "Hi-though" in the Bannock language and means "Close to Ground."

She graduated from the University of New Mexico at 24 with a BA in Art History and a minor in Native American Studies. Her various other titles stem from her knowledge of Native American history and her promotion of Native American concerns.

acagawea dollar

In 1998, the United States Mint invited sculptor Glenna Goodacre to submit a design for the new dollar coin featuring Sacagawea, the Shoshone woman who acted as an interpreter for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Goodacre went to the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico to find a Shoshone woman to model Sacagawea, since no contemporary portraits exist. Goodacre chose Teton, the daughter of a museum employee, to be the face of Sacagawea.

Career

Ms. Teton toured the country extensively to promote the new golden dollar coin's introduction and as a motivational speaker to encourage Native American education. Teton has stated that "image doesn't represent me, it represents all Native American women. All women have the dignity of the Golden Dollar's image." [http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/nativeamerican01/model.html]

Teton continues to make public appearance as Sacagawea to bring attention to American Indian and Alaska Native issues and concerns. Like Sacagawea, Ms. Teton is attempting to forge a new route and bridge between two cultures by representing and speaking on behalf of all Native American people.

References

* [http://www2.ihs.gov/heritage/Heritage2000/Randy'LBio.htm This article contains significant text from the public domain Biography from Indian Health Services]
* [http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/nativeamerican01/model.html DefenseLink article on Teton]

External links

* [http://www.winsociety.org/newsletter/news_archive/know.html Interview "Get to Know ...Randy’L Hedow Teton" by World Internet Numismatic Society (WINS), no year]