Some have suggested that the Shoshone carried their young on cradleboards facing backwards. Is the United States Mints depiction on the Golden Dollar accurate?
The issue of how Sacagawea would have carried her baby is one that we at the Mint spent a great deal of time examining. We consulted numerous historians and Native American representatives on this issue, and are comfortable with the historical accuracy of sculptor Glenna Goodacre’s depiction. Although the artist depicted Jean Baptiste facing forward on his mother’s shoulder, partly for artistic reasons, (the palette for the new coin is very small, and it was not artistically practical to depict the child facing backwards on a cradleboard) the artist believes, and we agree, that as a matter of convenience, there were times that Sacagawea would have wrapped her baby up and carried him on her back. There is strong historical support for this conclusion. According to Irving Anderson of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, the Lewis and Clark journals are very vague in documenting how Sacagawea attended to Jean Baptiste. In a June 29, 1805, entry, Lewis refers to “the bier in whic
Related Questions
- Some have suggested that the Shoshone carried their young on cradleboards facing backwards. Is the United States Mints depiction on the Golden Dollar accurate?
- Some have suggested that the Shoshone carried their young on cradleboards facing backwards. Is the Mints depiction on the Golden Dollar accurate?
- Who was it that first suggested that the United States Mint be built in Philadelphia?
