Exploring a Continent Through Ancient Homelands

By the time the Lewis and Clark Expedition launched in 1804, Native American tribes across the eastern part of the continent had experienced nearly two centuries of contact with Europeans. Colonists first established Jamestown in 1607. The French and Indian War raged between 1754 and 1763, and the American Revolution, which began in 1775, concluded in 1783 with independence for the 13 original colonies.
 

A Growing Nation

By 1790, the new United States had 13 states:
Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia.

Shortly after, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Vermont joined. By 1803, just as the Lewis and Clark Expedition was getting underway, Ohio became the 17th state in the Union.
 

More Than 100 Tribes Encountered or Identified

As the Corps of Discovery traveled west, they documented or met more than 100 Indigenous nations. Below are the key cultural regions and tribes encountered:
 

Great Basin Tribes

Shoshone, Bannock, Paiute
Foraging cultures often referred to by outsiders as “Digger Indians,” known for harvesting roots, seeds, nuts, and berries in high desert terrain.
 

Plains Tribes

Blackfeet, Assiniboine, Crow, Hidatsa, Mandan, Arikara, Yankton Sioux, Teton Sioux, Otoe, Omaha, Kaw, Osage, Missouri, Ponca
Nomadic buffalo hunters known for their horsemanship, war bonnets, and tipi lodges.
 

Plateau Tribes

Nez Perce, Flathead, Umatilla, Walla Walla, Yakama, Wishram, Palouse, Cayuse, Wanapum, Klickitat, Methow
Salmon fishing cultures who thrived in the Columbia River Basin with deep knowledge of roots, berries, and waterways.
 

Northwest Coastal Tribes

Chinook, Clatsop, Tillamook, Salishan
Masterful woodworkers and seafarers, famous for towering totem poles, plank houses, and dugout canoes.
 

📍 Key Native Encounters During the Expedition
 

First Tribal Council – Lower Missouri

July 1804
While stopped along the Missouri River, the Corps met their first Indigenous visitors: a small Missouri hunting party, followed days later by Otoe and Missouri leaders. Lewis shared news of the U.S. acquisition of Louisiana and encouraged peaceful relations.
 

Great Sioux Nation – Upper Missouri

📍 Calumet Bluff

 August 30, 1804
Lewis and Clark met with the Yankton Sioux. Although future encounters with Teton Sioux would prove tense, this initial meeting was friendly and ceremonial.
 

Winter with the Mandan

📍 Fort Mandan, Present-Day North Dakota
Winter 1804–1805
Seeking shelter from the harsh winter, the Corps built Fort Mandan near the friendly Mandan and Hidatsa villages. Here, they met fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau and his Shoshone wife, Sacagawea, who would later serve as a guide and interpreter.
 

Crossing the Continental Divide

In July 1805, the Corps reached the Three Forks of the Missouri, believing they were close to the Columbia River. Instead, they faced a rugged mountain range. With help from Sacagawea—who was reunited with her Shoshone brother—they obtained horses and guidance over the mountains.

Despite harsh terrain and near starvation, the Corps descended into the Nez Perce homeland, where they were welcomed and fed dried salmon before continuing on.
 

Reaching the Pacific – "Ocean in View!"

November 1805
Near the mouth of the Columbia River, Clark famously wrote,

📖 “Ocian in view! O! the joy.”
But that joy was short-lived—stormy weather trapped the Corps under coastal cliffs. Eventually, they reached the Pacific and established Fort Clatsop near present-day Astoria, Oregon, where they wintered among the Clatsop and Chinook tribes.

Journey Home – 1806

March 23, 1806
After a difficult winter, the Corps gifted Fort Clatsop to a Clatsop leader and began their return. Traveling familiar territory, they revisited the Walla Walla people, who guided them through what is now Waitsburg, Dayton, and Pomeroy, Washington.

📍 Camp Chopunnish (Kamiah, Idaho)
Snowbound near the Bitterroots, the Corps stayed here for five weeks. On June 24, they finally set out with Nez Perce guides and reached Traveler’s Rest near Missoula, Montana.
 

Splitting the Party

July 3, 1806

• Lewis: Explored the Marias River in present-day Montana.

• Clark: Traveled the Yellowstone River.

• Ordway: Led a detachment down the Missouri.
   

Reunion and Farewell

📍 August 12, 1806 – Reunion Bay, North Dakota
The Corps regrouped, bid farewell to Sacagawea and Charbonneau, and turned toward home. They arrived in St. Louis 37 days later—marking the end of one of the most important journeys in American history.

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