Sequoyah, a Cherokee, was born about 1770 in the Indian village of Taskigi (later known as Tuskegee) in the territory of Tennessee. It is believed that his father was the white trader Nathaniel Gist. His mother, however, was of royal Indian birth as a member of the family of the emperor Moytoy and the famous warrior-king Oconostota.
As a young man, Sequoyah became a craftsman in silverwork. He was also an accomplished storyteller and participated in the Green Corn Dances, ran footraces and played in ball games. And like the rest of his tribe, Sequoyah was illiterate, at least by white standards.
While Sequoyah was growing up he and his companions often had heated discussions concerning the white man's "talking leaf," as these Native Americans called books and papers written upon. These arguments involved whether the talking leafs were a gift from the Great Spirit to the white man, or whether the white man had invented them. Sequoyah's friends believed that the talking leafs were surely gifts from the Great Spirit but Sequoyah though differently. He believed that the white man had invented them.
Had Sequoyah's life continued in a normal sequence of growing from childhood to adulthood and becoming a warrior he might never have had the opportunity to prove that what he believed was true. But an incident in his life changed what his future might have been.
During a hunting trip Sequoyah was seriously injured. Because of this injury Sequoyah was left partially crippled. No longer could he follow the path of a great hunter and warrior of his people.
Although Sequoyah could no longer conduct his life in the usual way as the other men of his tribe did, he found himself with considerable leisure time. If he had put his thoughts of the talking leaf aside to become a warrior-leader, they now returned to him. He began to wonder how he and his people could possess the white man's mighty secret of the talking leaf.
Sequoyah of the Cherokee, continued.
