Savage truth
Imagine if you never had to attend school, and your primary focus was to live off the land and share your labor with your community. Now, consider that this was the practice of your culture for over a thousand years. How would you feel if someone came in and said you were an uncivilized person and had no right to the land you lived on for centuries? One man saw this as an opportunity to save his people and culture for generations. However, he did not choose violence. Instead, he knew education was how to save the people and culture he loved.
Today, I will share the story of a powerful man who came from the largest Native American tribe in North America. The tribe is called the Cherokee, and they created one of the most complex societies with established governments and cultural traditions rivaling any "civilized" country. The Cherokee people and their culture thrived for over a thousand years and only survived 113 years once Europeans settled in the United States. To clarify, this is a story of love and nonjudgment.
Sequoyah (suh-KWOY-uh), spelled just like the giant trees in California named after him. He was the visionary Cherokee leader who made an indelible mark on history by creating a writing system for the Cherokee language, one of the most remarkable linguistic achievements of the 19th century.

Above all
His dedication, spanning over 12 years, safeguarded the Cherokee language and paved the way for its cultural preservation. So, to understand why Sequoyah undertook this monumental task, one must look at the historical context of his time and his commitment to his people's welfare.
Savage Invasion?
Firstly, Sequoyah was born around 1770 and spent his early years in the Cherokee lands, which would later become part of Tennessee. Unlike many influential figures of his time, he had no formal education, which made his later accomplishments even more astonishing. Additionally, Sequoyah was exposed to English-speaking settlers and saw the growing influence of their language across his land. As a result, he recognized the pressing need for the Cherokee people to retain their cultural identity and communication methods. For this reason, he embarked on a path that no other indigenous leader had yet pursued: creating a written system for his people's spoken language.
During Sequoyah's time, the Cherokee Nation faced increasing pressures from European settlers and a rapidly changing political landscape. The U.S. government, through treaties and encroachment, pushed many Native American communities toward assimilation or relocation. Therefore, Sequoyah understood that for the Cherokee to maintain their autonomy and heritage, they needed a way to document their history, communicate, and preserve their language independently of English. Consequently, he envisioned a writing system that would empower the Cherokee, giving them a new tool to unify their nation and safeguard their legacy.

You're wrong until your Right
Sequoyah's journey took a lot of work. Subsequently, many members of his community were skeptical or even hostile to the idea of a Cherokee writing system, viewing it as a futile endeavor that imitated European settlers. Despite the doubt, Sequoyah pressed on, often facing personal hardships and enduring ridicule. However, with relentless determination, he worked alone for over a decade, slowly developing a syllabary—a set of written symbols, each representing a unique syllable in the Cherokee language. His efforts showcased a blend of innovation and resilience that would eventually change the course of Cherokee history.
Meanwhile, after 12 years of meticulous work, Sequoyah finally presented the Cherokee syllabary to his people in 1821. The results were revolutionary. That is to say, with only 85 symbols to learn, the Cherokee Nation quickly adopted the syllabary. As a result, widespread literacy became a reality in an unprecedentedly short time. Within a few years, the Cherokee were among the most literate groups in North America. So, they established a newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, which allowed them to communicate their perspective and document their experiences. This development helped to foster a strong sense of cultural pride and independence among the Cherokee people.

Cherokee Syllabary
We will Survive
Above all, Sequoyah's creation of the syllabary is more than a story of linguistic achievement. His act is a testament to resilience, cultural pride, and the desire to safeguard a people's identity. Sequoyah ensured that the Cherokee language and heritage would endure through his vision. Likewise, the language survived despite external pressures and forced relocation, such as the tragic Trail of Tears.
The forced relocation, known as the Trail of Tears, began in 1838 and became a brutal journey marked by suffering, starvation, and death. Thousands of Cherokee were rounded up, often with little warning, and herded into detention camps where conditions were poor. Meanwhile, they walked over 1,200 miles to their designated land in the West, today known as Oklahoma. The journey occurred under extreme conditions, with cold winters, scarce food, and widespread disease. Tragically, over 4,000 or a quarter of the Cherokee men, women, and children lost their lives due to exhaustion, malnutrition, and illness.

Blinded by the Light
In short, Sequoyah's decision to dedicate over a decade to creating a writing system for the Cherokee language was rooted in his love for his people. Moreover, it included his awareness of the importance of language as a cultural pillar. His achievement secured the survival of the Cherokee language and inspired a legacy of self-reliance and pride that resonates today. Through Sequoyah's visionary work, the Cherokee people could document, educate, and unify, ensuring their language and culture would not fade but thrive for future generations.
More than 430,000 Cherokee thrive today, making them the largest Native American tribe in the United States. Of these, the largest group belongs to the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, which has over 400,000 enrolled members. In Addition, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina has around 16,000 members, and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, also in Oklahoma, has approximately 14,000 members. It seems no matter the government or policy of the day can deture a people from their destiny of survival and prosperity.
