Se-Quo-Yah, Inventor of the Cherokee Alphabet
Datec. 1836-44
Artist
Charles Bird King
(American painter, 1785–1862)
Publisher
Rice, Rutter & Co.
(Philadelphia publisher, 19th century)
Illustration CitationThe History of the Indian Tribes of North America, by Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall (Philadelphia: Rice, Rutter, & Co., 1865–1870).
MediumColor lithograph
Dimensionssheet: 10 × 6 3/4 in. (25.4 × 17.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mary R. Seymour; Accessioned, 2019
Object number2019-44
On View
On viewClassificationsPRINT
Label TextSequoyah, a Cherokee trader and artisan, devised a syllabary--a set of symbols to represent each syllable in the Cherokee spoken language. His invention allowed the Cherokee to achieve mass literacy and preserve their language and cultural traditions as Euro-American society encroached on their territory.
