"Sequoayh" - Documentary - Arizona State University, American - Indian class final project.

Описание: Native North Americans communicated orally and through symbols carved into rock until Cherokee tribe member, Sequoyah invented the written structure of his language in 1821. His alphabet was the first Native North American written language.
Sequoyah was born in Vonore, Tennessee in around 1770. He was a silversmith and trader. In 1809, He began to work on Syllabary.
What led to Sequoyah to invent the syllabary?
According to some, Sequoyah realized that white people had an interesting way of communicating to each other: they used patterns on paper to reflect their thoughts. He called papers “talking leaves.”
Sequoyah took 12 years to create his alphabet. He had developed 86 characters. He broke each word into syllables, and then he created a character for each syllable. His daughter; Ayoka was his first student.
Most accounts indicate that some people in his tribe thought Sequoyah was practicing magic, and Cherokee chief, George Lowery brought some tribe people to judge Sequoyah’s syllabary. Finally, Tribesmen were convinced that Sequoyah’s alphabet was representing Cherokee talking. In 1825, The Cherokee Nation adapted Sequoyah’s syllabary as the official Cherokee Language. After he and the Cherokee Nation moved from Arkansas to Oklahoma, the first Native American newspaper called “Cherokee Phoenix” was published, in 1828.
Sequoyah had many accomplishments in his life, and the most notable one was inventing the Cherokee alphabet.
The Creek Nation poet Alexander Posey wrote a poem “Ode to Sequoyah” to honor his successful achievement.
Today, the Cherokee Alphabet is on smartphone apps, tablets, and books. New generation Cherokee students can learn their own language, thanks to Sequoyah.