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Sequoyah
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Sequoyah Faded front page of the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper from March 6, 1828, featuring English and Cherokee syllabary text in multiple columns under a phoenix emblem.
How Sequoyah invented the Cherokee writing system
Sequoyah, illustration
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Sequoyah
Sequoyah Sequoyah.

Sequoyah

Cherokee leader
Also known as: George Gist, George Guess, Sequoia, Sequoya, Sikwayi(Show More)
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

Sequoyah (born c. 1775, Taskigi, North Carolina colony [U.S.]—died August 1843, near San Fernando, Mexico) was the creator of the Cherokee writing system (see Cherokee language). Sequoyah was probably the son of a Virginia fur trader named Nathaniel Gist. Reared by his Cherokee mother, Wuh-teh of the Paint clan, in the Tennessee country, he never learned to speak, read, or write English. He was an accomplished silversmith, painter, and warrior and served with the U.S....

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