Sequoyah
(a.k.a George Gist)
Inventor of the Cherokee Alphabet
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.
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Fleeing Tennessee
Sequoyah fled Tennessee because of the
encroachment of whites as a youth.
 He moved to Georgia where he became a
silversmith.
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How it all began
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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.
The beginning of a new language:
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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.
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.

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

Implementation of the Cherokee
Syllabary
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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.
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.

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.
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Resources
http://ngeorgia.com/ang/Sequoyah(a.k.a_
George_Gist)
 http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/bi
ographies/sequoyah/
 http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/
Article.jsp?id=h-618&hl=y
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