Synopses & Reviews
Sequoyah is widely celebrated as an unlettered Cherokee Indian who, entirely from the resources of his own brilliant mind, endowed his whole tribe with learning-the only man in history to conceive and perfect in its entirety an alphabet or syllabary.and#160;Soon after 1800, Sequoyah began to realize the magic of writing. He and other Indians of the time, who occasionally saw samples of writing, called these mysterious pages the white man's andquot;talking leaf.andquot; He experimented aimlessly at first, but gradually his conception took practical shape. It was slow and laborious work for an untutored Cherokee.and#160;Finally, after twelve years of labor and discouragement, he completed his syllabary, composed of eighty-five symbols, each representing a sound in the Cherokee language. The simplicity of the syllabary and its easy adaptability to the speech and thought of his people enabled them to master it in a few days. The Cherokee nation was made practically literate within a few months.
Review
andldquo;A well-known historian has here told Sequoyahandrsquo;s story as it deserves to be told: simply, directly, and impressively.andrdquo;andmdash;New York Times
Review
"An excellent compact biography"-
Saturday ReviewReview
andquot;An excellent compact biographyandquot;-
Saturday ReviewSynopsis
Sequoyah is widely celebrated as an unlettered Cherokee Indian who, endowed his whole tribe with learning andndash; the only man in history to conceive and perfect in its entirety and alphabet or syllabary.
Synopsis
Volume 16 in the Civilization of the American Indian Series
About the Author
Grant Foreman (1869-1953), known as the dean of American Indian historians, was the author of Indian Removal, The Five Civilized Tribes, and Sequoyah and editor of Ethan Allen Hitchcock?s Traveler in Indian Territory, all published by the University of Oklahoma Press.