Sequoyah ( a.k.a George Gist)

1. Sequoyah(a.k.a George Gist) Inventor of the Cherokee Alphabet

2. Sequoyah • Born near Tuskeegee, Tennesee in 1776 • Died near Tyler, Texas in 1843 • His mother was the daughter of a Cherokee chief and his father was a Virginia fur trader named Nathaniel Gist.

3. Fleeing Tennessee • Sequoyah fled Tennessee because of the encroachment of whites as a youth. • He moved to Georgia where he became a silversmith.

4. How it all began • While Sequoyah was working as a silversmith, a man asked him to sign his work, as the white silversmiths had done. • Sequoyah, however, did not know how to write his name. • This sent him to Charles Hicks, a wealthy farmer, to teach him how to write his name.

5. The beginning of a new language: • Hicks showed Sequoyah how spell his name by writing the letters on a piece of paper. • In 1809 Sequoyah began developing the idea of a Cherokee writing system.

6. Cherokee War • Then he moved to Willstown, Alabama and joined the Cherokee Regiment in a battle against the Creeks. • This battle became known as the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. • During this battle, Sequoyah realized the importance of a writing system because the Cherokees were unable to communicate with their families during the war.

7. Characteristics of the writing system • Sequoyah used a phonetic system, where each sound made in speech was represented by a symbol. • He called it “Talking Leaves”, 85 letters that make-up the Cherokee syllabary

8. Implementation of the Cherokee Syllabary • Sequoyah went before the council to propose his new syllabary. • After the completion of the syllabary in 1821, it was rapidly adopted by many Cherokees. • Within two years many Cherokees had learned the syllabary and it made it possible for them to print books and newspapers in their language.

9. Life after developing the syllabary • After Sequoyah developed the Cherokee syllabary, he went into politics. • He was elected as a Cherokee delegate to the United States government in Washington, D.C. • In 1824, the National Council at New Echota struck a silver medal in Sequoyah’s honor.

10. Sequoyah’s Impact • The impact made by Sequoyah’s development of the Cherokee alphabet can be seen throughout the Cherokee history. • It made it possible for them to document their experiences and increase their communications between each other.

11. Resources • http://ngeorgia.com/ang/Sequoyah(a.k.a_George_Gist) • http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/biographies/sequoyah/ • http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-618&hl=y