Sequoyah

 Sequoyah



= Brief Biography = Sequoyah, credited as the creator of the Cherokee syllabary, was born approximately 250 years ago in a small village in present-day East Tennessee, approximately 8 miles from Echota, the old capital of the Cherokee Nation. He was the son of a Cherokee mother, Wu-te-he of the Red Paint Clan, and a white father - possibly Nathaniel Gist, a commissioned officer in the Continental army and emissary of George Washington. Throughout his life, Sequoyah remained faithful to the traditions of the Cherokee people, never adopting white dress, religion, or other customs. He spoke Cherokee exclusively. In the 1790s, Sequoyah resettled in what is now Arkansas when tribal land along the Tennessee River was ceded to whites. He worked for many years as a trader and also later became a silversmith as well as a blacksmith. During the War of 1812, Sequoyah and other Cherokees enlisted on the side of the United States under General Andrew Jackson to fight British troops and the Creek Indians. In 1815, Sequoyah married Sally Waters, a Cherokee woman of the Bird Clan, and began his family.  Resources:  Click on the name Sequoyah below to follow the link to find information and activities on Sequoyah. [|Sequoyah]