Who was the great father Lewis and Clark told the native Americans about?

Answer 1

The "Great Father" that Lewis and Clark told the Native Americans about was Thomas Jefferson, the President of the United States at the time. In their great westward expedition called the Corps of Discovery Expedition, Lewis and Clark would introduce themselves and the concept of the United States government to the Native Americans they encountered in their journey.

An article from PBS explains that "Lewis and Clark developed a ritual that they used when meeting a tribe for the first time. The captains would to the the tribal leaders that their land now belonged to the United States, and that a man far in the east - President Thomas Jefferson - was their new 'great father.'" The Native Americans were told they were the "children of a new great father who would provide them with trade and protection in place of their unreliable commerce with the French and the Spanish."

I would encourage you to look up the encyclopedia article cited below from World Book, which you should be able to access through your local public library. It includes actual quotes from the diary one of the expedition members who discusses the 'great father.'