Who Was Sequoyah?
Sequoyah was a Cherokee and white mix. His mother was a Cherokee princess, Wut-teh, and his father's identity is unknown. But many people believe that his father was Nathaniel Gist, who was a scout for George Washington. His American name was George Guess, Gist, etc., No one knows what his last name was, since his father was unknown. He was very interested in the white men's "talking leaves". He saw that the white men who used them were able to understand each other by writing down various symbols and markings. He wanted to do the same for the Cherokee. He wanted the Cherokee to have written language so they could also write down their stories and their fables, instead of verbally saying it over and over. So, he decided to create a written language syllabary. A syllabary is a set of written characters representing syllables to make an alphabet. It took him 12 years to decide and make 85 symbols in the Cherokee alphabet. Rumor has it that it took him so long to make the alphabet, because his wife burned his work, in fear that the white men wouldn't be happy with what he was doing, and punish him. But when he was done, he was able to teach the Cherokee. And in 6 months (or half a year) 90% of the Cherokee was literate. Sequoyah's alphabet is shown in the picture below. After teaching the Cherokee, he passed away in 1843.