Sacagawea's Child: The Life and Times of Jean-Baptiste (Pomp) Charbonneau by Susan M. Colby

Abstract

bynon-Indians areallpartof thesame story. This textdoes a good job highlighting miscommuni cation on both sides.These misunderstandings ultimatelyhad amuch more deleterious impact on theSalish than theAmericans. After themain text, the authors provide an extensive biographical section discussing tribalelderswho contributed to theproject and a helpful guide to theSalish language.The tribe took twomajor risks in publishing thisbook: they identifiedplaces of historical and cultural significance to the tribe and they shared some Coyote creation stories.The risksof thefirstare well-described; such acknowledgement of im portant places inthepast has led to their destruc tionby non-Indians. They hope thatthis will be different ? that these revelationsmay lead to non-Indian neighbors having greaterrespectfor the significanceof theseplaces. The inclusion of Coyote stories includes thiscautionary aside: "As readersdiscuss thisbook,we ask thattheCoyote stories mentioned inthesepages be repeatedonly in thewinter" (p. 7). The apparent importance of thisrequest deserves better explanation, per haps ofwhy this isa taboo andwhat constitutes repeating the stories; that is,towhat extent can theybe discussed inother seasons? This would be helpful informationforteachers tryingtouse the material respectfully. In addition to teachers, thiswork will be valuable to those interestedin thehistoryof the west, the Lewis and Clark expedition, and the Salish. This is an attractive coffee-table book because of the beautiful paintings, historical photographs, landscape photographs, and readable text.The book should be useful to academics as a source of primary source mate rial relating to one tribe's recollections of the impact of theLewis and Clark expedition. Since the interviewsare not accessible to thegeneral public, this work isall themore valuable. End notes let readers know the sources ofmaterials and ideas presented, although in several cases theydeserve better copy-editing. This book should also be of interestto other tribesas amodel for writing tribalhistory, blend ing togethera visual experience of a place and people and a textualexplanation of theirown cul turalhistory.Perhaps the most importantreason theauthorswere able towrite such a compelling narrative is the threedecades of culturalpreser vationwork, includingextensive interviews with tribalelders thathave been recordedand stored in the tribalcommunity.This trulybeautiful book is a community-based project. DAVID R.M. BECK University of Montana, Missoula SACAGAWEA'S CHILD: THE LIFE AND TIMESOF JEAN-BAPTISTE (POMP) CHARBONNEAU by Susan M. Colby. Arthur H. Clark, Spokane, Washington, 2005. Illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, index. 203 pages. $28.50 cloth. JEAN-BAPTISTE CHARBONNEAU is chiefly remembered as the infantson of Sacagawea who went west with Lewis and Clark. Later, he was schooled inSt.Louis atClark's expense; he spent years inGermany at thecourtof a duke; and after many years in the West he died at age sixty-one while travelingthroughsoutheastOregon. He left no writings except for two or three signatures, though thereare brief passages about him as a traveler, mountain man, guide, interpreter, petty official,and prospector in the journals of other western adventurers. Taken together, his life re cordswould hardly filltwentyprinted pages. Recently (OHQ 102:3,290-315), I argued that currentwritings about him are forced to treat a symbolic figure ? a blessed babe, an object of roughmen's affections,a favored prot?g?, a hearty and heroic outdoorsman?by indulging in embellishment and sheer speculation. This full-length book (volume 33of the West ern Frontiersmen Series) countersmy skepti cism, sometimes veryemphatically.Susan Colby claims descent from two lines ofCharbonneau ancestors, and she works to present the career of a "unique American m?tis," an outstanding figure in the exploration of the West by people 150 OHQ vol. 107, no. 1 of French and Indian ancestry (p. 10-11). She quotes with approval a remark that "the stan dard label for the Lewis and Clark expedition might withmore fairnessbe expanded to 'Lewis and Clark and Verendrye and Drouillard and Charbonneau'" (p. 24ns). This is a freshand worthwhile approach to earlywestern history,and Colby seems tohave gathered everythingwritten on her particular subject. She traces theCharbonneaus through generations inQuebec. She quotes dozens of passages about Sacagawea, Toussaint Char bonneau, and their son. She tries to challenge prejudices by looking at thesefigures"in terms of theirown cultures and the realities of their own times" (p. 11). She thus creates themost extensive, amply illustratedbiography anyone is likelytowrite. Yet, a close readerwill find thisbook frus tratingwhen it relies on secondary sources ratherthanprimarydocuments.Many passages...