Sequoyah

When Sequoyah created the syllabary, the Cherokee Nation was at a turning point. Sequoyah’s “utalotsa woni" (talking leaves) introduced the Cherokees to literacy. Never before had an Indigenous North American population developed its own system of writing. In essence, literacy for the Cherokees became an experiment, and Cherokee progress was watched, and judged, primarily by Europeans, but also by other Indians. Too often are Cherokees condemned for assimilating, because their efforts did not stop the forced removal. But, as Steven Brandon argues, seeing literacy, and subsequent rhetorics of removal, either as merely failure, or as a futile attempt in the face of insurmountable odds, is an oversimplification (Brandon 215). What really took place as a result of the beginning of literacy is much more complex; literacy brought about many changes, some positive, some not. But, in the end, literacy changed what it meant to be Cherokee, and ultimately, what it meant to be Indian.

In the 1821, mixed-blood traditional Cherokee, Sequoyah (George Guess), invented an 86 character syllabary which represented sounds in the Cherokee language (Brandon 130). Below is an image of Sequoyah wearing traditional dress, including a turban and holding a page with the syllabary written on it.

Sequoyah was born in Tuskegee Tennessee and was raised traditionally within the tribe, though he did take an English name, George Guess or Gist (Foreman, Sequoyah 3). Sequoyah “realized that there was a magic in the written word that set apart from others those who could read and write it,” and he wanted to have a piece of that “magic” for his tribe (Foreman, Sequoyah 4). So, beginning in about 1809, Sequoyah started a project that would take about twelve years, the creation of the syllabary, system of writing for the Cherokee language (Foreman, Sequoyah 5).

Cherokees, though they initially ridiculed his efforts, eventually embraced Sequoyah’s writing system. In a relatively short time, the majority of the Cherokee speakers in the Nation were literate in their own language (Brandon 131). According to Theda Perdue, in 1835, the number of Cherokees literate in the Cherokee syllabary was 43 percent (“Rising from the Ashes” 213). Learning to write in the syllabary began to be regarded as an indicator of Cherokee identity and national pride (McLoughlin, Champions 40; Brandon 132).

In 1825, Sequoyah was presented with a medal by the Cherokee Nation to honor his accomplishment. The medal was made of silver, and inscribed (in English on one side, and Cherokee on the other) with the statement “Presented to George Gist by the General Council of the Cherokee Nation, for his ingenuity in the Invention of the Cherokee Alphabet, 1825.” The medal featured a design of crossed pipes, and a likeness of Sequoyah (Foreman, Sequoyah 8). The popular image of Sequoyah features him wearing the medal and holding a copy of the syllabary in his hands.