Se-Quo-Yah, Inventor of the Cherokee Alphabet

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Se-Quo-Yah, Inventor of the Cherokee Alphabet
Image Not Available for Se-Quo-Yah, Inventor of the Cherokee Alphabet

Se-Quo-Yah, Inventor of the Cherokee Alphabet

Datec. 1836-44
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
Not on view
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.
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