In the early 19th century, the Indigenous American woman Sacagawea, who would help translate for and guide the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the West, married the French trapper Toussaint Charbonneau. Most marriages between Europeans and Indigenous Americans were between European men and Indigenous American women. Depending on the kinship system of the woman's tribe, their children would be more or less easily assimilated into the tribe. Nations that had matrilineal systems, such as the Creek and Cherokee in the Southeast, gave the mixed-race children status in their mother's clans and tribes. If the tribe had a patrilineal system, like the Omaha, the children of white fathers were considered white. Unless they were specifically adopted into the tribe by an adult male, they could have no social status in it. COUNT 5
QSN1 Who married Sacagewea? ANS1 French trapper Toussaint Charbonneau QSN2 Who made up most unions between Europeans and natives? ANS2 European men and Indigenous American women QSN3 What factor affected the ability of a child to be in a tribe? ANS3 the kinship system of the woman's tribe QSN4 What nations are considered matrilineal? ANS4 Creek and Cherokee QSN5 How could a white child be considered a member of the Omaha tribe? ANS5 adopted into the tribe by an adult male