had found Shoshoni Indian people and convinced some of them to come to the river to meet the
rest of his expedition for the purpose of trading some of his goods for horses. Sacajawea tells the
explorers that they have found her people and that Naya Nuki is her best friend captured with her
by enemy warriors. She said she and her friend were taken 1000 miles east to be sold into slavery.
Sacajawea said she was won in a card game by her owner, Charbonneau. Sacajawea told Captain
Lewis that Naya Nuki escaped and came home traveling 1000 miles through the wilderness all
alone.
NAYA NUKI:SHOSHONI GIRL WHO RAN is the story of her survival and amazing return to
her people. NAYA NUKI won the Wyoming Children's Book Award in 1986. Over four
thousand school districts use NAYA NUKI in their reading and social studies programs. NAYA
NUKI has be translated into Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, and Japanese. A movie based on her
book is due to come out in 2004. This story is loved by boys as well as girls. Author Ken
Thomasma has created an author read aloud set of cassette tapes of his book. He reads the story
word for word. Before each chapter he makes a few comments about his research and writing.
NAYA NUKI is on its way to becoming a classic.