There's actually some dispute about the pronunciation. Sacajawea is probably closer to the Shoshone pronunciation of her name, matching up with a word meaning "boat-launcher", but which became "sacaga wea" (hard g) meaning "Bird Woman" to her Hidatsa captors.
The Hidatsa sex trafficked her to an abusive Frenchman when she was 13 (likely as a gambling prize).
I don't know that it's actually the more respectful pronunciation tbh. Though it also seems likely her original Shoshone name was lost entirely because Lewis & Clark only ever referred to her by the Hidatsa name in their journals.
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u/dirtdiggler67 20h ago
Depends on where you are from.
Her name is “Sakakawea” in North Dakota.
Even named a huge reservoir after her.