A Language of Their Own

Day Eighteen of Autism Acceptance Month

 
This guy pretty much shows what autism is all about. He was barely literate in any language...yet he came up with a whole entire alphabet for his people that is still used today. His name was Sequoyah, and he created the Cherokee alphabet.
Along with other Cherokees, Sequoyah enlisted in the United States Army to fight both the British and the Creeks, an enemy tribe, in the War of 1812. Although able to grasp the concept of writing, Sequoyah had never been able to learn the English alphabet. Unlike the white soldiers, he and the other Cherokees were unable to write letters home, read military orders, or record events. Rather than letting the fact get him down, Sequoyah was determined to create a writing system for his people after the war-and that he did. It took many years, but hard work payed off, and today Cherokee people everywhere continue to use their own language and alphabet. 
 

Street sign in North Carolina, in both English and Cherokee.
Keep in mind the city of Cherokee is beautiful, but if you go there you will see feathered headdresses, teepees, and totem poles, none of which are traditionally Cherokee! Just keep that in mind!

Sequoyah's homeland! The Cherokee believe that small blue people live deep underneath the earth, and the bluish mist that covers the mountains is actually smoke from their chimneys!