Ever since she was young, Fort Hall woman Randy’L Teton has been sharing stories about Sacajawea to all who would hear.

First as a museum attendant at the Fort Hall Museum at the age of 14, where she would teach tourists about the Lemhi Shoshone woman who helped guide the Lewis and Clark Expedition through hundreds of miles of terrain.

Then it was during tours after she was selected as the model for the Sacajawea U.S. dollar coin, where she had the opportunity to travel across the country with the United States Mint and tell many people about the woman’s life.

Now, Teton will be sharing Sacajawea’s story once more and this time in written form with her graphic novel, “It’s Her Story: Sacajawea,” which is published by Sunbird Books, illustrated by Aly McKnight and available for purchase on Amazon now.

“This has actually been a dream of mine to have a children’s book from an indigenous perspective,” said Teton, an enrolled member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Fort Hall. “The book is from a tribal perspective and it’s the first children’s book that is actually written by the perspective of one, with the illustrations also by a tribal illustrator.”

The novel, which is aimed at children ages seven through ten, focuses on Sacajawea’s story in a way that will captivate young audiences, but one of the unique aspects of the novel is that it was written by an author who’d learned about the woman through oral storytellers in her tribe.

“A lot of the stories that I’m sharing in this book were shared to me orally because that’s culturally how we share stories,” said Teton. “At the age of 14, I worked at the Tribal Museum in Fort Hall and a lot of the tourists that came through the doors always asked about Sacajawea. I was able to ask the elders at the time who are no longer with us today about (her). I was able to do my research then, and sadly during that time there were no books written by Native American authors. Non-tribal historians were telling our stories and so at that time I felt compelled to get my education and be able to tell our own stories and it’s finally happening in the year of 2023. I’m really proud and thankful to the elders who shared the stories with me and so I want to dedicate this book to those elders.”

The graphic novel is part of the series “It’s Her Story” that highlights women throughout history who have made a difference in the United States. Teton explained that she’ll be promoting the book on not just regional or state levels but has been invited to promote it on a national level as well.

She will be doing a presentation on the novel at the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel & Casino for the Western Literature Association Conference that takes place Oct. 11-14. She said the public is welcome to join but there will be limited seating.

She was also invited as a guest speaker to promote her book at the Library Journal’s Day of Dialogue, which is a national event that offers a closer look at some of the biggest upcoming novels for the winter and spring of 2024.

“This one is specifically for librarians searching for new books,” she said. “And so we’re going to start to see an increase of this book being pushed out, not only at a regional or state level but a national level as well.”

In addition, Teton said a miniature book tour is also planned but has not yet been scheduled, and she hopes to visit Boise, Idaho Falls, Blackfoot and Fort Hall, among other locations.

“I would really like for the school districts to pick up the book and start including it in their fourth grade curriculum,” she said.

“It’s Her Story: Sacajawea” is Teton’s first novel, but her experiences of being the model for the Shoshone woman and telling her history is something that she’d like to share in a memoir one day.

“I do hope to have a memoir on my experience of being selected as the model because I was able to experience a lot of amazing things and meet a lot of amazing people,” said Teton, who was also the youngest and only living model for U.S. currency. “I traveled with the United States Mint for two years. That experience alone is very unique because they never had a living model on a coin…But I was given her voice on her behalf as a young tribal girl and (with) her story there’s just so many different misunderstandings about her history and I’m hoping with this book it gives some truth to what she experienced as a young girl who was taken from her people.”

For those interested in learning more about Teton’s novel or her experiences as the model for the Sacajawea dollar coin, visit randylteton.com. The book will also be available through Barnes and Noble, Walmart, Target and more.