A Cherokee alphabet

Sequoya was one of the great native American chiefs. He was a Cherokee. He is also famous because he invented an alphabet for the Cherokee language.

Sequoya was born at a time when the American colonies still belonged to England. As a young man, he learned to hunt and fish and to do the other things Cherokee boys learned. He was also a skilled worker in silver, but he was not taught how to read and write. At the time, the Cherokee had no alphabet of their own.

After Sequoya got married, a hunting accident left him a cripple. He spent much of his time sitting around or walking slowly. More important, he had time to think. He knew about the colonists’ “talking leaf”, a piece of paper with writing on it. He believed that native Americans, too could learn their languages.

Sequoya spent many hours making marks on pieces of wood and stones. His wife and friends began to think he was strange. More than that, they thought he might be crazy.

Sequoya worked on his ideas for years. At last he had solved the problem. Each mark he wrote stood for a syllable in their Cherokee language. Furthermore, the alphabet was so simple and exact that it could be learned in a few days. Even more important, Sequoya had each person who learned his alphabet to teach another person. Soon, almost all the people of the Cherokee Nation could read and write their language.

Sequoya’s name will also be remembered forever in another way. The giant redwood trees in California, the tallest trees in the world, have been named for this Native American. The trees are called Sequoyas.