Randy'L He-dow Teton
Encyclopedia
Randy'L He-dow Teton is the Shoshone
woman who posed as the model for the US Sacagawea dollar
coin, first issued in 2000. She is the only living person whose image appears on American currency.
-Bannock
/Cree
from the Lincoln Creek district of the Fort Hall Reservation in Southeastern Idaho
. She is the second oldest of five siblings and the daughter of Randy Leo Teton and Bonnie C. Wuttunee-Wadsworth (Shoshone-Cree), both members of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe.
Her given middle name is He-dow, which is pronounced "He-dough" in the Shoshone language
and means Meadowlark
, while in the Bannock language it means "Close to Ground."
She graduated from the University of New Mexico
at 24 with a BA in Art History
and a minor in Native American Studies.
invited sculptor Glenna Goodacre
to submit a design for the new dollar coin featuring Sacagawea
, the Shoshone
woman who acted as guide and interpreter for the Lewis and Clark Expedition
. Goodacre went to the Institute of American Indian Arts
Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico
to find a Shoshone woman to model Sacagawea, since no contemporary portraits exist. Goodacre chose Teton, the daughter of a museum employee, to be the face of Sacagawea.
education. Teton has stated that, "the image doesn't represent me, it represents all Native American women. All women have the dignity of the Golden Dollar's image."
Teton continues to make public appearance as Sacagawea to bring attention to American Indian and Alaska Native issues and concerns.
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
woman who posed as the model for the US Sacagawea dollar
Sacagawea dollar
The Sacagawea dollar is a United States dollar coin that has been minted every year since 2000. These coins have a copper core clad by manganese brass, giving them a distinctive golden color. The coin features an obverse by Glenna Goodacre. The reverse design has varied, from 2000 to 2008...
coin, first issued in 2000. She is the only living person whose image appears on American currency.
Biography
Randy'L He-dow Teton is a ShoshoneShoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
-Bannock
Bannock (tribe)
The Bannock tribe of the Northern Paiute are an indigenous people of the Great Basin. Their traditional lands include southeastern Oregon, southeastern Idaho, western Wyoming, and southwestern Montana...
/Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
from the Lincoln Creek district of the Fort Hall Reservation in Southeastern Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
. She is the second oldest of five siblings and the daughter of Randy Leo Teton and Bonnie C. Wuttunee-Wadsworth (Shoshone-Cree), both members of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe.
Her given middle name is He-dow, which is pronounced "He-dough" in the Shoshone language
Shoshone language
Shoshoni or Shoshone is a Native American language spoken by the Shoshone people. Principal dialects of Shoshoni include Western Shoshoni in Nevada, Gosiute in western Utah, Northern Shoshoni in southern Idaho and northern Utah, and Eastern Shoshoni in Wyoming.Shoshoni-speaking Native Americans...
and means Meadowlark
Meadowlark
Meadowlarks are birds belonging to the genus Sturnella in the New World family Icteridae.This genus includes seven species of largely insectivorous grassland birds...
, while in the Bannock language it means "Close to Ground."
She graduated from the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
at 24 with a BA in Art History
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
and a minor in Native American Studies.
Sacagawea dollar
In 1998, the United States MintUnited States Mint
The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of State...
invited sculptor Glenna Goodacre
Glenna Goodacre
Glenna Maxey Goodacre is a sculptor well known for having designed the obverse of the Sacagawea dollar that entered circulation in the United States in 2000...
to submit a design for the new dollar coin featuring Sacagawea
Sacagawea
Sacagawea ; was a Lemhi Shoshone woman, who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acting as an interpreter and guide, in their exploration of the Western United States...
, the Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
woman who acted as guide and interpreter for the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
. Goodacre went to the Institute of American Indian Arts
Institute of American Indian Arts
The Institute of American Indian Arts is a college focused on Native American art. It is situated in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is congressionally chartered, and was created by an executive order of former American President John F. Kennedy in 1962...
Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
to find a Shoshone woman to model Sacagawea, since no contemporary portraits exist. Goodacre chose Teton, the daughter of a museum employee, to be the face of Sacagawea.
Career
Ms. Teton toured the country extensively to promote the new dollar coin's introduction and as a motivational speaker to encourage Native AmericanIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
education. Teton has stated that, "the image doesn't represent me, it represents all Native American women. All women have the dignity of the Golden Dollar's image."
Teton continues to make public appearance as Sacagawea to bring attention to American Indian and Alaska Native issues and concerns.