Tell me about this plate.
This plate represents Sacajawea. The part extending from the top of the plate is based on a cradleboard, which refers to how she carried her son on her back while leading the Western expedition of Lewis and Clark.
For both the plate and runner, Judy Chicago took inspiration from Shoshone art. The abstract linear patterns in the plate reflect the type of patterns that Shoshone women use especially in rawhide paintings. The runner is made from hand tanned deer skins and 40,000 seed beads in patterns that come from Shoshone dress.
Who's this?
Sacajawea, which translates in Hidatsa to “Bird Woman,” was born to the Shoshone Tribe in Idaho. She was an essential member of Lewis and Clark's expedition to discover routes through the North American West to the Pacific Ocean. She was the daughter of a Shoshone Chief, captured at 12 by an enemy tribe and then sold to a Canadian Trapper, who became her husband. Because of her background, she served as an interpreter for the expedition.