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National Geographic
3 days ago
- National Geographic
Who was Sacagawea? Here's the real story of her critical role in U.S. exploration
Often remembered merely for guiding Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea's story is far more complex. Discover the deeper story behind the life of this Shoshone woman—beyond the expedition. Explorer Sacagawea stares into the distance while Jean Baptiste Charbonneau sleeps soundly on her back. She was vital to the Lewis and Clark Expedition after the Louisiana Purchase. Photograph by ZUMA Press, Inc, Alamy Stock Photo Of all the figures that emerged from the American West, none may be so wrapped in mythology as Sacagawea. When she joined Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's infamous expedition west, she was just a teenager and a new mother. However, Sacagawea emerged as an icon of the New World. Today, her name is synonymous with a period characterized by rapid westward expansion at the great expense of the Tribal Nations who stewarded the land since time immemorial. Though her brief life burns brightly in the American consciousness, here's what is known about the young Native American woman who accompanied the famed explorers on the journey that would change America forever. Who was Sacagawea? It's estimated that Sacagawea was born in the late 1780s, however, not much is known of her early life before she met Lewis and Clark at age 16. As a citizen of the Lemhi Shoshone Tribe, Sacagawea would have grown up in what is now Idaho, along the Salmon River. In Sacagawea: A Biography, historian and author April Summitt writes that the Lemhi Shoshone people subsisted on the salmon abundant in its waters. As a young woman, she would have contributed to the daily tasks essential for survival: preparing and drying fish, curing animal skins, harvesting wild berries, seeds and root vegetables, and even building shelter. Sacagawea's life changed forever when she was abducted at around 10 years old. As the Lemhi Shoshone were camped near what is now Three Forks, Montana, the Hidatsa Tribe attacked. The conflict culminated in the capture of a group of young Shoshone women, including Sacagawea. The captives were taken to the Hidatsa villages near what is now Bismarck, North Dakota. Sacagawea lived as a captive of the Hidatsa for three years until she married a 38-year-old French Canadian fur trader, Toussaint Charbonneau, who lived among the tribe. Sacagawea's forced marriage Charbonneau was already married to another Shoshone woman when he took Sacagawea as his wife in 1804. Historical accounts offer a dark glimpse of the man with whom Sacagawea would spend much of her young life. In 1795 while working for fur trading business, North West Company, he was discovered raping a young Indian woman, according to journal's kept by the company's clerk. Not much is known about how their marriage came to be. However, we do know that Sacagawea had little agency over her fate. A 2002 Los Angeles Times article reported that Charbonneau "won" her as his wife in a gambling bet. Others say he bought her in exchange for goods. In Sacagawea: A Biography, historian and author April Summitt writes that Charbonneau likely exchanged horses or other goods with the Hidatsa for Sacagawea's hand. Others point to the union as a means of forging an alliance between Native communities and settlers. Historically, matrimony between Native women and a European man was not one of romance. For European men in the fur trade, marrying into a Tribal Nation meant gaining insider status in what could otherwise be a hostile relationship. A Native wife could interpret for their husbands and tribes, forge deals and alliances, and open access to trade routes. For tribes, those alliances might keep them safe from destruction at the hands of colonizers or offer political mobility in a swiftly changing world. Debra Magpie Earling, a member of the Bitterroot Salish tribe and author of The Lost Journals of Sacagawea, a fictionalized account of Sacagawea's life based on historical documents, emphasizes that the reality of the arraignment was likely more sinister. 'There are some historians who claim that Sacagawea was sold, that Charbonneau was trying to sell Sacagawea to other men,' Earling said. The Louisiana Purchase's influence on Indigenous life Sacagawea's life took place against the backdrop of a quickly evolving geopolitical landscape brought on by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The largest land deal in American history, the United States doubled in size when it purchased 820,000 square miles from France—a swath of land that would become 15 states spanning from Louisiana to Montana. The Louisiana Purchase also opened the West to a deluge of settlers spurred on by Manifest Destiny—the belief that it was their divine right to expand America beyond the vein of the Mississippi River. Settlers and indigenous tribe's clashed, the former fought for what they thought was divinely theirs, and the latter held their ground to protect their homeland and lifeways. In just a few decades, the Native tribes that stewarded western land would be forced to the confines of reservations created by the U.S. government and subject to sanctimoniously cruel campaigns to rid the country of their peoples and memory. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 saw the U.S. military forcefully marching Native people great distances away from their homelands, resulting in the deaths of thousands by starvation, disease, and exposure. (Read more on how North America's Native nations are reasserting their sovereignty.) As settlers displaced Native communities, Sacagawea's fortunes changed. In November 1804, while she was six months pregnant with her first child, Lewis and Clark arrived at the Hidasta settlement to wait out the winter. President Thomas Jefferson had commissioned the two men to lead an expedition into America's vast new territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. The expedition aimed to survey the land, forge relationships with various tribes, and collect information about new species of plants and animals. Lewis and Clark recruited Charbonneau to their expedition, dubbed The Corps of Discovery, for his ability to speak French and some Hidatsa. The journey would span from the northern plains of modern-day North Dakota, through the Rocky Mountains and to the Pacific Ocean. The fur trader's young wife quickly piqued their interest. Sacagawea was fluent in both Hidasta and Shoshone, an indispensable asset to a team of explorers venturing into Native American territories where language barriers could impede relations and even lead to deadly violence. Sacagawea, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, is retrieving supplies after one of the boats keeled over. Sacagawea was vital to the expedition as she translated and guided the group from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast. Painting by Rob Wood, Wood Ronsaville Harlin, Inc. USA, Bridgeman Images Sacagawea's influence in the Lewis and Clark expedition On April 7, 1805, two months after giving birth to her son Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, Sacagawea, her new baby, and her husband began the journey west with Lewis and Clark. She was the youngest member and only woman in the group, carrying her baby on a cradleboard on her back, in her culture's tradition. While Lewis and Clark's journals mention Sacagawea less than two dozen times, many entries contain clues that may tell us what her life was like on the journey. In an entry on August 14, 1805, Clark wrote that Charbonneau struck her during dinner, for which he was reprimanded. At times, she and her baby slept in Lewis and Clark's tent. A month into the journey, the explorers were canoeing down a tributary of the Missouri River when the boats capsized, spilling people and supplies into the roaring waters. Sacagawea remained calm while gathering essential papers, books, instruments, medicines, and provisions that would have otherwise been lost to the river. The act inspired Lewis and Clark to name the river after her. Sacagawea's language skills proved essential when it came time for the expedition to negotiate the purchase of horses from a group of Shoshone near the Lemhi Pass in modern-day Idaho. While discussing the purchase with the group's leader, she discovered it was, in fact, her brother, Cameahwait. Clark wrote in his journal that the reunion was clearly emotional, and the typically stoic young Shoshone woman expressed joy upon meeting her long-lost brother. Sacagawea used knowledge culled from her Native culture to the benefit of the group, harvesting edible plants for food and medicinal purposes and making clothing and footwear. She also read the landmarks in the vast landscape, advising the party on the best route to return east. Her contributions elevated her status in the group. By the time the voyage reached the Pacific Coast in November 1805, she was allowed agency that was otherwise not afforded to a woman. The captains allowed her to join a scouting party to see the remains of a whale beached on the shore and Clark's journals note that she even had a vote when it came time to decide where to set up camp to wait out the winter. While the captains ultimately chose not to settle in the area she suggested—where wapato, or root vegetables, were plentiful—casting her vote as a lone woman among men would later inspire the women's suffrage movement to adopt her as a symbol. Upon returning to the Hidatsa settlement in August 1806, Charbonneau was paid $500.33 and 320 acres of land for his role in the expedition. Sacagawea received no compensation from Lewis and Clark. Little is known about Sacagawea's life after the expedition. In 1811, Sacagawea and Charbonneau took Clark up on his offer to oversee their son's education in St. Louis, after the explorer was appointed the superintendent of Indian Affairs. Meanwhile, the couple worked for the Missouri Fur Company, and it's believed Sacagawea gave birth to a girl named Lisette in 1812. Records point to Sacagawea's death from illness later that year; but that might not be the end of her story. In 1925, the U.S. government directed Sioux physician Charles Eastman to seek out where Sacagawea was buried so a monument could be erected in her honor. After interviewing tribes in North Dakota and Wyoming, he came to believe that she left Charbonneau to marry into the Comanche tribe, and lived a long life well into her 80s, passing away in 1884. Sacagawea's legacy in the United States Today, Sacagawea's image is immortalized on the U.S. Golden Dollar coin, with her face peering over her shoulder as her baby is nestled safely against her back. First issued in the year 2000, the coin sought to honor her contributions to American history and was created in collaboration with Native American communities. The image seeks to remind us of the tenacity of the young Native woman as an explorer in her own right, and her strength as a mother. From the waters from which she saved crucial records and supplies to Sacagawea Peak in Oregon, her impact on the country is remembered. An effigy in Salmon, Idaho—the homeland of her people—also stands in her honor. "I think America has told itself this tale, made this myth of this young Indian woman who came along and helped the explorers as a false justification for the stealing of native lands," Earling said. "She isn't mentioned very much [in Lewis and Clark's journals], but her presence is so powerful.' As Clark noted in a letter after the expedition, Sacagawea deserved "a greater reward for her attention and services ... than we had in our power to give her."
Epoch Times
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Betrayal, Treason, and the Fall of an American Founder
Alexander Hamilton was dead and buried, killed by a gun fired by Aaron Burr. At the height of his political power, Burr had killed Hamilton, and, much like Hamilton on the day he was shot, July 11, 1804, Burr's political life would enter its death throes on July 12—the day Hamilton died. Burr had witnessed a steady rise politically, from joining the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War to becoming attorney general for New York, then serving as a senator from 1791 to 1797. He was one vote shy of winning the 1800 presidential election and, therefore, had to settle for the vice presidency under Thomas Jefferson. Burr, however, had spurned too many political foes and allies alike, and, after the duel with Hamilton, his rise had come to an end. Anonymous 1902 illustration depicting the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, which occurred on July 11, 1804. Public Domain After Hamilton's death, both New York and New Jersey indicted him for murder, though he never stood trial. Burr returned to Washington to finish out his term as vice president and president of the Senate. The latter proved monumental, as he oversaw the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase, which had been instigated by Jefferson. The Senate acquitted Chase on March 1, 1805. The following day, Burr stood before the Senate and announced his resignation to the Senate. He had been replaced by George Clinton, of New York, for vice president during the 1804 election. His party, the Democratic-Republicans, had seen the writing on the wall. Burr's resignation came two days before Jefferson began his second term. Burr proclaimed that the Senate 'is a sanctuary; a citadel of law, of order, and of liberty; and it is here—it is here, in this exalted refuge; here, if anywhere, will resistance be made to the storms of political phrenzy and the silent arts of corruption; and if the Constitution be destined ever to perish by the sacrilegious hands of the demagogue or the usurper, which God avert, its expiring agonies will be witnessed on this floor.' It appears Burr was referencing Jefferson (and even perhaps his long-time and now-dead political rival, Hamilton, who had held immense sway over the Federalist Party). His words, however, would soon deal specifically with himself, and he would be standing in court accused of being 'the usurper.' But the Constitution, with its definition of treason, ensured he did not prematurely join Hamilton in the grave. Go West Burr's political life in the East was over, and he now looked to the new lands in the West. On April 30, 1803, the Louisiana Purchase was signed, practically doubling the size of the United States. This new territory seemed ripe for political leaders, and Burr, known for his ambition, pursued the opportunity. Related Stories 7/15/2024 3/19/2025 Before the Louisiana Purchase, the territory had switched hands between the Spanish and French. Even after the Franco-Spanish James Wilkinson, a morally ambiguous American figure, had served in the Continental Army, been part of the Conway Cabal against Gen. George Washington, and by 1784 had moved to Kentucky and began negotiations with the Spanish regarding independence for Kentucky. The threat of settlers turning territories into new nations was a constant worry for the American government. In 1787, Wilkinson had secretly sworn allegiance to the Spanish governor (a fact not officially uncovered until the 20th century), and his penchant for split loyalties became pronounced in his dealings with Burr. Putting a Plan in Place After his time in the nation's capital ended, Burr was confronted with the dichotomy between opportunity and loyalty. He chose the former—a seemingly natural inclination for Burr. During the same month as his resignation, he met with Anthony Merry, the British minister to the United States. A plan, however, was being formed. He had suggested to Merry that he would require several frigates at the mouth of the Mississippi River to prevent an American blockade, as well as a loan of about 100,000 pounds. Burr then left Philadelphia to inspect the western lands. He arrived in Pittsburgh at the end of April, planning to meet his old friend, Wilkinson. The meeting had to wait as Wilkinson, currently serving as the territorial governor of Louisiana, was delayed. Burr, therefore, boarded a 60-foot houseboat and made his way down the Ohio River. On May 5, 1805, he stopped at the four-mile long Blennerhassett Island, where he dined with the wealthy Irish immigrant, Harman Blennerhassett, and his family. He remained at the island mansion until 11 p.m., discussing his plans. These plans involved Blennerhassett turning his mansion into Burr's military headquarters. Blennerhassett Blennerhassett Island from the north, as seen today. Burr continued down the Ohio River, stopping in Cincinnati and Nashville before arriving at Fort Massac, located on the river at the southern tip of Illinois today. Here, he met Wilkinson, whom he had been communicating with via coded letters based on a cipher system Wilkinson had created. Along with a barge, Wilkinson provided Burr a letter of introduction for his arrival in New Orleans. Upon entering in the port city, Burr made the acquaintance of a wealthy merchant, Daniel Clark, who, on Burr's behalf, began inquiring about the strength of local Spanish forts and the public sentiment toward a Mexican irruption from Spain. He also promised $50,000 towards Burr's imperial expedition with the hopes of becoming 'a duke' in the new Burr empire. For the rest of 1805, Burr continued his survey of the western lands, furthering discussions with Wilkinson, making more contacts, even returning to Washington to dine with Jefferson. He wrote his first letter to Blennerhassett, ordering him to turn his island into a military encampment. As 1805 turned into 1806, and the winter months gave way to spring, Burr continued the pursuit of his ambitious expedition, even taking the major step of contracting more than 20 boats to be built to accommodate 500 men, along with supplies. He also purchased 400,000 acres near the Washita River in today's northern Texas. The Unraveling In August 1806, however, his idea began to unravel when he discussed his goals with Col. George Morgan. Morgan, completely shocked by Burr's comments, sent a letter to Jefferson, informing him of Burr's plans—it was the first Jefferson had heard of the plan. When Wilkinson received Burr's latest correspondence about his impending arrival with armed men, he suddenly soured on Burr's plans and sent a letter of warning to Jefferson. He informed the president that an expedition planned to sail from New Orleans in February and land at Vera Cruz. The federal government had worked long and hard to resume peaceful relations with Spain. Jefferson, concerned that would be undone by this seemingly imminent invasion, Most of the boats built for the invasion were confiscated shortly before their departure. Many of the armed men who planned to be involved now either dispersed or were too disappointed in the recent outcomes to continue. Burr, arriving with Blennerhassett and a remnant of his confederates in Bayou Pierre, just north of New Orleans, discovered Wilkinson's betrayal. Burr immediately issued a statement of innocence, but that hardly mattered. While camping along the Natchez River, Burr received a letter from the governor of the Mississippi Territory requiring he surrender and stand before a grand jury. He arrived in Washington, a town in the Mississippi Territory, and stood before a grand jury, which quickly acquitted him. Burr was subsequently released. A Case of Treason As more rumors and facts about Burr's actions circulated, another warrant for his arrest was issued. Burr planned to take refuge in Florida, but while in Alabama, he was arrested and taken by a nine-man military escort to Richmond. On March 26, he stood before Chief Justice John Marshall, now known as the Father of the Supreme Court. A photo from 1904 shows the place Burr was captured near Wakefield, Ala. Burr's bail was set for $10,000, which was paid by several locals, thus freeing Burr from custody. It was during this week in history, on May 22, 1807, that Burr was brought before the grand jury for the charge of treason. The trial itself, however, did not begin until Aug. 3, primarily due to waiting for one of the trial's primary witnesses: James Wilkinson. When the trial began, Marshall made it abundantly clear that the charge of treason must adhere strictly to the Constitution's Chief Justice John Marshall, oil on canvas painting by Rembrandt Peale, 1834. Public Domain The case became one of America's most famous, involving some of the nation's most famous, infamous, and important figures, including Burr; Marshall; Wilkinson; co-conspirator Jonathan Dayton, who was the youngest signer of the Constitution; Burr's defense council, which included Edmund Randolph, a former secretary of state and a delegate at the Constitutional Convention and Charles Lee, a former attorney general; the prosecution, which included the future attorney general, William Wirt; and, to an extent, Jefferson, who had unprecedentedly been sent a subpoena by Marshall for papers concerning the case. On Sept, 1, 1807, the jury concluded that 'Aaron Burr is not proved to be guilty under this indictment by any evidence submitted to us. We therefore find him not guilty.' Whether Burr committed treason by attempting to create another country on the continent, or if he solely planned an ill-conceived invasion of Mexican lands remains a topic of debate to this day. 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Boston Globe
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
America loves its public lands so don't sell them off
Trump's views on public lands weren't always like this. In January 2016, before voters in the Republican presidential primary launched Donald Trump toward his first term, Trump and his son Donald Jr. attended the world's largest firearm trade show in Las Vegas. The pair sat for interviews and rubbed elbows at the SHOT Show with gun manufacturers, hunters, and shooting sports aficionados. Throughout the visit, the Trumps carried a strong conservation message in press conferences and interviews with the media. The future president Advertisement There is little doubt that Don Jr., an avid hunter who has long enjoyed American public land, was largely responsible for his father's take at that time. Observers, particularly hunters and anglers who identified as Republican or independent, applauded Trump's words. But when Trump was elected for his second term, a new crew was at his back and some of the same players wanting the federal government to jettison the citizens' public lands were chirping in the president's ear that public lands could be sold to pay down the national debt. Don Jr., meanwhile, has been largely silent. Americans own, use, and enjoy more than 640 million acres of land, about a third of the land mass in the nation, mostly acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. Federal agencies, from the Forest Service to the Department of Defense, manage these lands on our behalf. Mining companies, oil and gas companies, ranchers, and loggers lease the vast resources of these lands, paying back into the treasury. Hunters, anglers, hikers, off-road vehicle enthusiasts, and anyone else wanting to escape the noise of civilization can enjoy these lands, usually for free or a nominal fee. Public land provides clean air and water in an ever-changing climate. Advertisement Yet some states, led most recently by Utah, believe they should take those lands from the nation's taxpayers for their own use. Trump, in 2016, was dead right: The states have often chosen to sell off the land to private interests. Nevada once had 2.7 million acres of state land and now owns just 3,000. Oregon had 3.4 million acres and now has 776,000 acres. The notion of selling off land for housing development is one that many politicians have embraced. Republicans on the House Committee on Natural Resources recently voted to clear the path for sales of land around the Nevada cities of Las Vegas and Reno and near the fast-growing retirement community of St. George, Utah, tacked on as part of the budget reconciliation. But much of the housing shortage in the nation is found in New York and Florida, while housing shortages in Nevada, Arizona, and Utah are often tied to significant water or labor shortages. Moreover, the federal government already has the ability to sell off certain parcels of public land, taking into account public input, not a dark-of-night maneuver in Congress. The Biden administration, for instance, Moreover this sell-off philosophy of federal lands ignores the fact that public lands are vastly popular. In the early 1900s, states in the East, jealous of the vast public resource in the West, pushed for passage of the Weeks Act, which allowed the federal government to purchase thousands of acres of land from private interests from Maine to Alabama. National Forests like Pennsylvania's Allegheny and Vermont's Green Mountain were once private lands and now are enjoyed by millions of Americans. Advertisement Public lands pay. Oil and gas royalties are cheaper, mining is cheaper, grazing is cheaper. A rancher grazing a cow on public land pays less than $1.50 a month to do so. On private land, that cost can be $50 per cow. And outdoor recreation is worth $1.2 trillion. All may not be grim with Burgum and his 'balance sheet' language. During his confirmation hearing, Burgum, a sportsman, touted public lands as a miracle and channeled America's public lands hero, President Theodore Roosevelt. Yet we may be reaching a turning point for the future of our public lands. Perhaps it is time for Don Jr. to help his father make the right choice, as he did when he was just one of many candidates for the nation's highest office.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Could Canada actually become the 51st U.S. state?
U.S. President Donald Trump has recently doubled down on his threats to make Canada the 51st American state despite repeated claims from Prime Minister Carney that Canada is "not for sale" and that Canadian sovereignty is not up for discussion. "You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security," Trump has said, referring to the border between Canada and the U.S. Yahoo editor and host Shibani Gokhale spoke to Robert Huish, an Associate Professor in International Development Studies at Dalhousie University, to find out whether the annexation threats have any merit. Could Canada actually become an American state? I asked an expert to get you some answers. Technically, it could, but it would take a lot of processes to get there. And by could, I mean by aggressively being taken over by the United States. On the Canadian side, there is nothing within our charter or our Constitution, or within the fiber of our own being. That would tolerate that. On the American side, with gaining territory, there's only 3 ways that it's been done in the past. And so the first is session. So session means that that's a mutual agreement between the between Washington and whatever other territory we're we're we're discussing here. Second would be through purchase, right? So that's where we see that. Uh, the Louisiana Purchase, the original expansion of the colonies outwards, Alaska was purchased, and then finally, subjugation is the last one, and that's where we talk about annexation. The only time in US history where that's admitted to have occurred was just immediately following World War II. So those are the three ways of doing it, and there's no way that the United States could purchase Canada with a G7 nation with an economy bigger than Italy, bigger than Russia, so that's out. Uh, there's really no way that you're gonna see session ever occurring. So the last move is subjugation, and I already think that Donald Trump's White House has miscalculated just how patriotic Canadians will get on this topic. Do you have any other questions? Let us know in the comments and follow for part two.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
On This Day, April 30: Vietnam War comes to end
April 30 (UPI) -- On this date in history: In 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States. In 1803, the United States more than doubled its land area with the Louisiana Purchase. It obtained all French territory west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. In 1812, Louisiana entered the union as the 18th U.S. state. In 1927, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford became the first movie personalities to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first U.S. president to appear on television when he was shown on opening day at the New York World's Fair. In 1945, the burned body of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was found in a bunker in the ruins of Berlin. In 1948, 21 countries of the Western Hemisphere formed the Organization of American States. In 1967, Muhammad Ali was stripped of his world heavyweight boxing championship title after he refused to be drafted into the U.S. military. In 1975, South Vietnam unconditionally surrendered to North Vietnam. The communists occupied Saigon and renamed it Ho Chi Minh City. In 1997, Ellen DeGeneres' character came out as gay on the popular sitcom Ellen, making it the first sitcom to feature a gay leading character. The local ABC affiliate in Birmingham, Ala., refused to air the episode so gay rights advocates arranged for a satellite downlink to beam the show. In 1993, tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed and injured by a self-described fan of Steffi Graf during a break between games in a match against another player in Hamburg, Germany. Seles, who won nine grand-slam singles titles in her career, was out of competitive tennis for more than two years after the attack. In 2006, rebel factions in Sudan rejected a peace agreement in the Darfur conflict. Officials estimated the fighting had killed at least 180,000 people and driven more than 2 million from their homes. In 2009, Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection in a key move of a restructuring plan backed by the Obama administration. In 2012, Israel began construction of a wall that would be 23 feet high and less than a mile long on its border with Lebanon. Security officials said the concrete wall would protect residents in the Matulla area from sniper fire from nearby Lebanese villages. In 2013, Queen Beatrix, the 75-year-old monarch of the Netherlands, signed a formal declaration abdicating in favor of her eldest son, Willem-Alexander, 46, who became the country's first king in 123 years. In 2019, Japanese Emperor Akihito, 85, formally abdicated his throne, becoming the nation's first monarch to step down in 200 years. His son, Crown Prince Naruhito, ascended to the throne, starting the Reiwa era. In 2022, country legend Naomi Judd, one half of duo the Judds, died at the age of 76.
