Profile of Sacagawea with her infant son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau being carried on her back.

Sacagawea (1788-1812) was a Lemhi Shoshone woman who helped the Lewis and Clark Expedition achieve each of its chartered mission objectives exploring the Louisiana Purchase. With the expedition, between 1804 and 1806, she traveled thousands of miles from North Dakota to the Pacific Ocean, established cultural contacts with Native American populations, and researched natural history.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States, departing in May 1804, from near St. Louis making their way westward through the continental divide to the Pacific coast.

Engraver: Glenna Goodacre (GG)

Depicts Ely Samuel Parker in Army uniform. A quill pen and book, along with a likeness of his graceful signature, are symbols of his experience as an expert communicator. The inscriptions “TONAWANDA SENECA” and “HA-SA-NO-AN-DA” recognize his tribe and the name given to him at birth.

Ely Samuel Parker (1828–1895), born Hasanoanda (Tonawanda Seneca), later known as Donehogawa, was a U.S. Army officer, engineer, and tribal diplomat. He was bilingual and became friends with Lewis Henry Morgan, who became a student of the Iroquois in upstate New York. Parker earned an engineering degree in college and worked on the Erie Canal, among other projects.

He was commissioned a lieutenant colonel during the American Civil War, when he served as adjutant and secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant. He wrote the final draft of the Confederate surrender terms at Appomattox. Later in his career, Parker rose to the rank of brevet brigadier general.

When General Grant was elected as US president, he appointed Parker as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the first Native American to hold that post.

Sculptor: Joseph Menna
Designer: Paul C. Balan

Inscribed along the edge of the coin is the year of minting or issuance of the coin, the mint mark, and also the legend "E Pluribus Unum" (Latin for "Out of many, one").

Position A: edge lettering reads upside-down when Sacagawea's portrait (obverse) faces up.
Position B: edge lettering reads normally when Sacagawea's portrait (obverse) faces up.