Sequoyah Completes the Cherokee Syllabary

Sequoyah, a Cherokee silversmith who could neither read nor write in English, spent approximately twelve years developing a writing system for the Cherokee language. He identified 85 distinct syllables in spoken Cherokee and assigned each a unique symbol, some adapted from Latin, Greek, and Hebrew characters. He demonstrated the system's effectiveness by having his six-year-old daughter Ahyoka read words dictated by skeptical tribal leaders. The Cherokee Nation formally adopted the syllabary in 1825, and within years Cherokee literacy rates surpassed those of surrounding settler communities.