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Can you imagine a world without a writing system for your language? It may be hard to picture it now, but in the year 1809, a man named Sequoyah lived in such a world. Sequoyah was a member of a Native American tribe, the Cherokee. The Cherokee people speak their own language, but for hundreds of years they did not have a system of writing. This meant that Cherokee business owners could not keep written records. Cherokee soldiers fighting far from home could not write letters to their families. Without a writing system, the Cherokee had no newspapers or books.

Sequoyah was probably born around the year 1770, though no one knows for sure. He lived with his mother in a small village in the mountains of Tennessee. He did not go to school. Instead, he helped his mother work in the garden and tend cattle.

Even though Sequoyah did not go to school, he was very smart. As an adult, Sequoyah taught himself how to make jewelry out of silver. He also became a blacksmith, using heat to shape metal into arrow points, knives, and shovels. He sold the things he made and became a well-known businessman in his town.

People came from all over to buy the beautiful objects Sequoyah made. Sometimes, English-speaking people came to his shop. Sequoyah noticed that these people had a special way of communicating with one another: they used marks on paper to record their thoughts and ideas. Sequoyah called these pieces of paper “talking leaves.” He began to wonder why people who spoke Cherokee did not have a way to write down their words.

In 1809, Sequoyah decided he would invent a way to write the Cherokee language. His friends and family thought he was crazy. They said that it could not be done. They said it was a waste of time. Many people believed the Cherokee language did not need to be written down. The Cherokee tribe had grown strong and powerful without the use of writing—why did they need it now? But Sequoyah did not listen. He was determined to give the Cherokee their own “talking leaves.”

Sequoyah set out to create a new writing system for the Cherokee language. At first Sequoyah tried to create a different symbol for every word in the Cherokee language—and there are thousands of words! He soon realized it would be too hard for people to remember so many symbols. Sequoyah came up with a new idea: he would make a picture to represent each syllable. After much hard work, Sequoyah created 85 symbols, one for each syllable in the Cherokee language. His work was complete.

Now that Sequoyah had invented a way to write the Cherokee language, he needed to see if it worked. He helped his daughter Ayoka learn each symbol. Together they practiced saying words to each other and writing them down. Even though she was only 6 years old, Ayoka learned to read and write very quickly. Sequoyah’s invention was a success!

Sequoyah was excited to teach other Cherokee people how to read and write. He traveled from town to town offering to teach anyone who was interested. Sequoyah was disappointed to find that almost nobody wanted to learn to read or write. He had to come up with a new plan.

Sequoyah brought Ayoka with him to a nearby village and met with the local leaders. He told Ayoka to leave the room, then asked each person to say one word. He wrote all their words down and called Ayoka back into the room. When she read each word perfectly, the local leaders were convinced that it was possible to write their language. They decided to let Sequoyah teach reading and writing to the people of their village.

Before long, Sequoyah’s writing system had spread far and wide. Cherokee people living in all different parts of the country learned to read and write. They published books and newspapers. They wrote down speeches and laws. In 1825, Cherokee leaders made Sequoyah’s system the official written language of the Cherokee people. Sequoyah was given a medal in recognition for all his hard work.

To this day, Cherokee speakers still use Sequoyah’s writing system. In some parts of the United States, you can see street signs and billboards written in both English and Cherokee. Sequoyah will always be remembered for his important contribution to the Cherokee people.