The Cherokee Syllabary Paperback

In 1821, Sequoyah, a Cherokee metalworker and inventor, introduced a writing system that he had been developing for more than a decade.  This creation - The Cherokee Syllabary - helped his people learn to read and write within five years and became a principal part of their identity.  This groundbreaking study traces the creation, dissemination, and evolution of the syllabary from script to print to digital forms.  Breaking with conventional understanding, Ellen Cushman shows that the syllabary was not based on alphabetic writing, but on Cherokee syllables and meanings. 

Cushman also explores the syllabary's enduring significance, showing how it allowed Cherokees to protect, enact, and codify their knowledge and to weave non-Cherokee concepts into their language and life.    The result was their enhanced ability to adapt to social change on and in Cherokee terms.