Unveiled on July 6th, 1905, for the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in a special ceremony attended by Susan B. Anthony and many other celebrities from the women’s suffrage movement. A year later, on April 6th, 1906, it was relocated to its current location in Washington Park.
It portrays Sacajawea, a Native American woman who was the only woman and a key member at the Lewis and Clark Expedition. She is standing tall, carrying her the baby son, Jean-Baptiste, soon after giving birth in the first winter of the expedition, looking far and holding her right hand in the air as if showing the direction.
Alice Cooper created this 7 feet bronze statue and became the first female artist to have her art included in Portland’s public sculpture collection.
The statue is one of the several statues erected with the support of the National American Woman Suffrage Association of the early 20th century. It was commissioned by the Committee of Portland Women who wanted to commemorate Sacajawea as “the pioneer mother of old Oregon.”
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