DREAMS COME TRUE
AS LONG AS ONE BELIEVES IN THEM
|
Sequoyah
1760 - 1843
¤
Sequoyah was a Cherokee
Indian from
the area known today as Tennessee. He could neither speak nor read
English
yet he observed Europeans communicating with figures on paper. These
"talking
leaves" intrigued him and he decided to try and invent a writing system
for his people. He often was ridiculed as a dreamer or crazy, but he
continued
working on a Cherokee alphabet. He moved to the Alabama area but three
years later, in 1821 he returned to present his Cherokee syllabary
consisting
of 86 characters. It was quickly learned by tribal members and in 1828
the Cherokee newspaper, The Phoenix, began as a bilingual
newspaper
printed in English and Cherokee. The Cherokee syllabary is still used
today
by the Cherokee Tribe, a testimony and tribute to the genius, Sequoyah. |
