Sequoyah
(Image
of Sequoyah)
Cherokee Linguist
1770(?)-1843
Many details about Sequoyah's early life are unknown. He was born in an Indian village near Tuskegee, Tennessee to Wut-The or Wurtee, a woman of the Paint clan, and Nathanial Gist, a part-Cherokee fur trader. Sequoyah grew to be an accomplished hunter, trader and silversmith. He enlisted in the Cherokee Regiment of the U.S. Army and fought in the war against the Creek Indians during 1813-1814 in Alabama. Around this time, Sequoyah adopted the English name George Guess.
Through his trade as a silversmith or during his career in the army, Sequoyah grew fascinated with what he called "talking leaves" - the letters and documents that white men used to communicate. When he returned from the army, he set about to create a system of writing for the Cherokee language. Mrs. Bula Croker, a descendent of Sequoyah, spoke to a Tulsa World writer in 1933 and retold some of the family legends. ("Sequoyah Overcame Difficulties to Fashion First Alphabet" by Robert Sherrod. Tulsa World, April 16, 1933).
The alphabet that Sequoyah created consisted of 85 phonetic symbols that correspond to the syllables of Cherokee words. For this reason, it is commonly known as a syllabary.
In 1821, Sequoyah appeared before the Cherokee Council to explain his system of writing and demonstrate its value to the tribe. Within a few years, thousands of Cherokees could read and write in their own language. Before long, Cherokee people began publishing books and a newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix.
Sequoyah served as a representative to the whites during the removal of Cherokees from their homelands in the Southeast to new territory in Oklahoma. Later in life, Sequoyah, his son, and a small search party traveled to Mexico in search of a small band of Cherokee rumored to have settled there. He died near present-day Tyler, Texas.
Since 1959, the Oklahoma Library Association has sponsored the Sequoyah Book Awards, a reading program designed to encourage young Oklahomans to read. Each year, children and young adults are encouraged to read several works of outstanding literature and cast votes for their favorites. Votes will be accepted through January, and winners will be announced in February. These awards honor Sequoyah's contributions to preserving and cultivating the Cherokee language and culture.
Sources for this Article:
Great North American Indians: Profiles in Life and Leadership by Frederick J. Dockstader. Van Nostrand Reinhold, c1977
Notable Native Americans. Ed. By Sharon Malinowski. Gale Research, 1995
"Sequoyah (a.k.a. George Gist)".
North Georgia Resource Center.
URL: http://ngeorgia.com/people/sequoyah.html (1/10/00)
"Sequoyah Overcame Difficulties to Fashion First Alphabet" by Robert Sherrod. Tulsa World, April 16, 1933.
For more information about Sequoyah and the Cherokee language:
Library resources:
Chiltosky, Mary Ulmer. Cherokee Words With Pictures. Gilbert Printing Co., 1972.
Cwiklik, Robert. Sequoyah and the Cherokee Alphabet. Silver Burdett Press, 1989.
Feeling, Durbin. A Structured Approach to Learning the Basic Inflections of the Cherokee Verb. Indian University Press, Bacone College, 1994.
Foreman, Grant. Sequoyah. University of Oklahoma Press, 1938.
Hider, Sam. Cherokee Language Program [sound recording]. VIP Publishing, 1993.
Hoig, Stan. Sequoyah: The Cherokee Genius. Oklahoma Historical Society, 1975.
Holmes, Ruth Bradley. Beginning Cherokee [sound recording]. University of Oklahoma Press, 1977.
Hunt, Bernice Kohn. The Story of Sequoyah: Talking Leaves. Hawthorn Books, 1969.
Klausner, Janet. Sequoyah's Gift: A Portrait of the Cherokee Leader. HarperCollins, 1993.
Oppenheim, Joanne. Sequoyah, Cherokee Hero. Troll Associates, 1979.
Peterson, David. Sequoyah, Father of the Cherokee Alphabet. Childrens Press, 1991.
Sequoyah [videorecording]. Sigma Educational Media, 1989.
Shaughnessy, Diane. Sequoyah: Inventor of the Cherokee Written Language. Rosen Pub. Group's PowerKids Press, 1997.
Robinson, Prentice. Cherokee Made Easy [sound recording]. Prentice Robinson, 1992.
Robinson, Prentice. Cherokee Study Course I & II [sound recording]. Prentice Robinson, 1988.
Traveller Bird. Tell Them They Lie: The Sequoyah Myth. Westernlore Publishers, 1971.
Van Duyl, Charles D. An Outline of Basic Verb Inflections of Oklahoma Cherokee. Indian University Press, 1994.
West, C.W. The Mysteries of Sequoyah. Muscogee Publ. Co., 1975.
Web Sites:
Cherokee Language Lessons by Richard Francis of
Cherokees of California, Inc.
http://www.powersource.com/cocinc/language/
Cherokee Messenger, produced by the Cherokee
Cultural Society of Houston.
http://www.powersource.com/cherokee/message/default.html
A Few Words in Cherokee/Tsalagi using the English
alphabet, with pronounciation.
http://public.csusm.edu/public/guests/raven/cherokee.dir/cherlexi.html#Top
Official Site of the Cherokee Nation
www.cherokee.org
Talking Leaves and the Cherokee Phoenix, a
history of the first newspaper to be published in the Cherokee language.
http://ngeorgia.com/history/alphabet.html