POCATELLO, ID -- Randy'L Teton, the Shoshone Indian woman who modeled for the Sacajawea dollar coin, said her people consider the guide who led Lewis and Clark on their historic expedition to be a "traitor" to Native Americans.
"Even today, Sacagawea is not considered a heroine [by Native Americans]," said Teton. "She is thought of as a traitor. The elders [of my tribe] thought she brought the white people to the land."
Teton's remarks came during a recent Rotary Club luncheon held at the Red Lion Hotel in Pocatello, ID. | SEE STORY
Teton was a student at the University of New Mexico in the late 1990s when artist Glenna Goodacre hired her to model for the coin, which launched in 2000.
Teton, whose website highlights her dollar coin modeling, presently works with community service projects that are developing a new generation of tribal leaders.
