Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was a famous Native American-French Canadian explorer who lived in the early 1800s.

He was a man of many talents who during his life as an explorer served as a guide, fur trapper, interpreter, and trader. He was hired as a scout during the Mexican-American War and helped lead the Mormon Battalion on one of the longest marches in US history.

His adventures would take him many places and position him to experience unique roles including serving as the alcalde, or mayor, of Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, and as a gold digger when he joined the earliest forty-niners during the Gold Rush of California.