- Cameahwait
Cameahwait was the brother of
Sacagawea , and aShoshone chief. He was the head of the first group of inhbitants of modern-day Idaho that were encountered by Europeans.To the Shoshone Cameahwait and Sacagawea were brother and sister. In Shoshoni cousin and brother are the same word. This also means that they think of them as the same, so that during the translation when Sacagawea cried out that she recognized Cameahwait as her brother, that is what she meant, but whether they actually had the same father, let alone the same mother, is not clear. [Arrington, Leonard J. "History of Idaho" (University of Idaho Press: Moscow, Idaho, 1994) Vol 1, p. 515] Cameahwait donated horses to Lewis and Clark to repay them for reuniting him with his long-lost sister (Sacagawea had been kidnapped by another tribe when they were young). She was kidnapped by the Hidatsa Indians when she was twelve years old. She and her friend Naya Nuki were used as slaves for the Hidatsas. They then sold the two Indian girls to Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian trapper. Also chief Cameahwait was announced chief for doing such a honerable deed.(UTC)Charbonneau and Sacagawea both accompanied Lewis and Clark on their western expedition.
ources
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
