Sequoyah biography video

Sequoyah was born in the 1770s in the Cherokee village of Tuskegee on the Tennessee River. His name Sikwo-yi is Cherokee for “pig’s foot,” which leads many to believed that he was crippled.

Sequoyah was a mixed-blood Cherokee. His mother, Wureth, was a member of the Paint Clan. His father, Nathaniel Gist, was a Virginia fur trader. Sequoyah was sometimes known by his English name George Gist or Guess.

In 1809 while working as a silversmith in Georgia, Sequoyah learned how to sign his name on his work.

This was where Sequoyah first had the idea for a Cherokee writing system. While serving in the US army during the Creek War (1813-1814) the idea blossomed.

Sequoyah biography video for kids

He noticed that the American soldiers were writing letters home, writing and reading orders, and recording the events of the war as they happened. Sequoyah realized that a written language could be very beneficial to the Cherokee.

He worked for many years developing the characte