>>> NOT LONG AFTER THE EUROPEANS ARRIVED NATIVE AMERICANS NOTICED, THE NEWCOMERS WERE USING SYMBOLS ON PAPER TO COMMUNICATE.

MOST THOUGHT IT WAS SOME SORT OF SORCERY, A SPECIAL GIFT FROM THE GREAT SPIRIT GIVEN ONLY TO THE WHITES, OR JUST SOME KIND OF TRICK.

200 YEARS LATER, A CHEROKEE SILVERSMITH NAMED SEQUOYAH WANTED HIS PEOPLE TO HAVE A PRACTICAL METHOD OF PRESERVING IDEALS AND DELIVERING INFORMATION TO OTHER PEOPLE IN DISTANT PLACES.

SEQUOYAH WAS CERTAIN HE COULD INVENT A WAY FOR CHEROKEES TO "TALK ON PAPER."

EVENTUALLY, HE DID.

IT TOOK 12 YEARS TO CONVERT THE TRIBE'S SPOKEN LANGUAGE INTO THE 86 SYMBOLS OF THE CHEROKEE SYLLABARY AND UNRAVEL THE MYSTERY OF THE TALKING LEAVES.

LIKE EVERY OTHER TRIBE IN AMERICA, THE CHEROKEE NATION IS STRUGGLING TO PRESERVE ITS NATIVE LANGUAGE.

THIS CLASSROOM IS THE FRONT LINE IN THAT FIGHT, FOR SEVERAL HOURS A DAY, FIVE DAYS A WEEK THE CHILDREN SPEAK ONLY CHEROKEE.

THEY ALSO LEARN TO WRITE USING A SYLLABARY THAT WAS INVENTED OVER 200 YEARS AGO BY A CREATIVE GENIUS NAMED SEQUOYAH.

>> SEQUOIA WAS BORN NEAR THE TRIBAL TOWN OF TUSKEGEE, IN TENNESSEE.

HE WAS BORN ANYWHERE FROM 1765 TO 1780.

HIS CHEROKEE NAME WAS SEQUOIA BUT HE DID HAVE AN ENGLISH NAME THAT HE WENT BY THAT WAS GEORGE GUEST.

HIS FATHER WAS ACTUALLY NATHANIEL GIST WHO WAS SOMETIMES AS CITED AS BEING A FUR TRADER, SOMETIMES CITED AS BEING A SOLDIER.

BUT HE WAS A WHITE MAN NAMED NATHANIEL GIST.

AND SO SEQUOIA ACTUALLY ALSO WENT BY THE NAME GEORGE GIST, SOMETIMES YOU WILL SEE HIM CITED AS GEORGE GUEST AND MAYBE IN THE TREATIES THAT HE WAS A PART OF OR HE WOULD SIGN HIS NAME AS SEQUOIA.

>> THERE'S A LOT ABOUT SEQUOYAH'S LIFE THAT IS A MYSTERY, HIS LIGHT WAS SO BRIGHT THAT THERE ARE MANY COMPETING ACCOUNTS THAT ARE CONTRADICTORY OR MADE UP.

HISTORIANS KNOW ONE LEG WAS MUCH WEAKER THAN THE OTHER, BUT THEY DON'T KNOW WHY.

>> THERE SOME HISTORIC REPORTS THAT CLAIM HE WAS BORN WITH A DISABILITY AND THEN SOME CLAIM THAT HE HAD A CHILDHOOD INJURY, SOME CLAIM THAT HE WAS INJURED DURING THE BATTLE OF HORSESHOE BEND IN THE WAR OF 1812.

>> AT HORSESHOE BEND, SEQUOYAH WAS ONE OF OVER 600 INDIANS WHO FOUGHT ALONGSIDE 2600 U.S.

SOLDIERS AND MILITIA UNDER THE COMMAND OF MAJOR GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON.

IN WHAT IS NOW CENTRAL GEORGIA, A GROUP OF CREEK WARRIORS CALLED THE RED STICKS WAS SUPPORTING BRITISH FORCES IN THE WAR OF 1812.

ON MARCH 27, 1813 JACKSON'S FORCE ALONG WITH CHEROKEES AND WHITE STICK CREEK WARRIORS SURROUNDED THE RED STICK STRONGHOLD OF TOPEKA.

THE RED STICKS MADE A DESPERATE STAND, BUT WERE DESTROYED IN A FIVE-HOUR HAND-TO-HAND BATTLE THROUGH THEIR BURNING VILLAGE.

>> THAT WAS ACTUALLY THE BATTLE THAT SAM HOUSTON WAS INJURED IN, WHO WAS A FRIEND OF THE CHEROKEE'S.

I BELIEVE THERE WERE ABOUT 300 CHEROKEES GIVE OR TAKE THAT SERVED IN THAT BATTLE, SO HE LIKELY WOULD HAVE KNOWN HIM.

>> SEQUOIA DID SEE SOME FELLOW SOLDIERS WRITING LETTERS BACK HOME AND HE THOUGHT WELL IF WE CAN DO THIS WHY CAN'T WE?

AND THAT SORT OF SET THE SPARK IN MOTION.

>> SEQUOIA WAS AMONG THE OLD SETTLERS, A GROUP OF CHEROKEES WHO MIGRATED WEST TO WESTERN ARKANSAS AND INDIAN TERRITORY IN 1818.

13 YEARS LATER, MOST OF THE TRIBE WOULD BE FORCED FROM THEIR HOMES IN GEORGIA AND TENNESSEE TO INDIAN TERRITORY ALONG THE TRAIL OF TEARS.

THOUSANDS DIED DURING THE DIFFICULT JOURNEY.

THE OLD SETTLERS HELPED THE NEW ARRIVALS ADJUST TO THEIR NEW LIFE.

SEQUOYAH NEVER WENT TO SCHOOL AND NEVER LEARNED TO SPEAK ENGLISH, BUT HE WAS CLEVER.

HE LEARNED HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY AND BECAME A SILVERSMITH.

>> HE SAW THE ADVANTAGE THAT THE WHITES HAD IN THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO CONVEY THEIR IDEAS ONTO PAPER AND THEN THEY WERE ABLE TO TRANSMIT THOSE FROM ONE INDIVIDUAL TO ANOTHER.

THEY WERE ABLE TO PUT THEIR IDEAS INTO BOOKS, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO GET THOSE BOOKS TO OTHER PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN LEARN THOSE IDEAS.

HIS MOTHER HAD A TRADING POST AND SO HE LIKELY OBSERVED THE SYSTEM OF WRITING AS LETTERS CAME THROUGH OR AS OTHER WHITE TRADERS CAME THROUGH.

AS EARLY AS 1809 HE BEGAN DEVELOPING A WRITING SYSTEM.

AT FIRST HE TRIED TO DEVELOP A SYMBOL FOR EACH WORD IN THE LANGUAGE.

AND THEN HE TRIED, BECAUSE THAT WAS GOING TO BE ENORMOUS, THEN HE TRIED TO DO MAYBE FOR A SINGLE SENTENCE, OR A SINGLE PHRASE.

EVENTUALLY, HE WAS ABLE TO HOLD IT DOWN TO CERTAIN PHONEMES OR SOUNDS SO THAT WAY HE COULD PUT A SYMBOL FOR EACH DISTINCT SOUND IN THE CHEROKEE LANGUAGE.

>> WHICH MEANS EVERY CHARACTER IS ITS OWN SOUND.

LIKE WE HAVE A GA-LA-LE, AND WE HAVE VOWELS TOO WITH THE A-E-I-O, UH AND AHH.

SO, IT'S NOT AN ALPHABET IN THE SENSE THAT ENGLISH IS, BUT IT DOES ACCOUNT FOR A LOT OF THE SOUNDS, AND WE HAVE 86 CHARACTERS IN IT.

>> HIS WIFE SALLY AT ONE POINT JUST BURNED EVERYTHING THAT HE WAS WORKING ON BECAUSE SHE WAS TIRED OF HIM WORKING ON IT.

>> THE SYLLABARY WAS FINISHED JUST AFTER HIS ARRIVAL IN PRESENT-DAY POLK COUNTY, ARKANSAS.

HE RETURNED EAST IN 1821 TO PRESENT IT TO THE TRIBE, AND THEN CAME BACK TO INDIAN TERRITORY IN 1822, WHERE HE FIRST TAUGHT THE WRITTEN LANGUAGE IN THE WEST.

>> SOME PEOPLE DIDN'T AGREE WITH WHAT HE WAS DOING, THEY THOUGHT HE -- THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT HE WAS DOING.

>> THEY DID HAVE A TRIAL, THEY TRIED HIM FOR WITCHCRAFT, HE AND HIS DAUGHTER AYOKA, WHO WAS ONE OF HIS FIRST STUDENTS.

AND EVENTUALLY THEY WERE ABLE TO CONVINCE THEM BY PUTTING SEQUOIA IN ONE ROOM AND PUTTING AYOKA IN ANOTHER ROOM AND PASSING MESSAGES BACK AND FORTH, THEY WERE ABLE TO CONVINCE THE WARRIORS IN THE COUNCIL THAT THIS WAS A WAY OF COMMUNICATING WHAT YOU ARE SAYING VERBALLY.

THE WARRIORS WERE ONE OF THE FIRST GROUPS THAT WANTED TO LEARN IT.

>> ACTUALLY LEARNING THE SYLLABARY IS THE EASY PART, LEARNING TO SPEAK THE LANGUAGE IS THE HARD PART.

>> WITHIN A YEAR OF THE INTRODUCTION OF THE SYLLABARY IT IS ESTIMATED THAT OVER 90% OF THE CHEROKEE NATION WAS LITERATE IN THE SYLLABARY AND THAT WAS A NUMBER THAT SURPASSED THE WHITE NEIGHBORS OF THE CHEROKEE AS WELL.

>> AND IT SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE.

THE INITIAL VERSION OF IT WAS HANDWRITTEN, IT WASN'T UNTIL 1827, SELECT SIX YEARS LATER, WHEN WE GOT THE PRINTING PRESS AND HAD THE LEAD TYPE CAST FOR CHEROKEE.

>> YOUR INVENTION OF THE ALPHABET IS WORTH MORE TO YOUR PEOPLE THAN TWO BAGS FULL OF GOLD IN THE HANDS OF EVERY CHEROKEE.

>> SEQUOIA WAS ALSO A DIPLOMAT, AND HE TRAVELED WITH A CHEROKEE DELEGATION TO WASHINGTON IN 1828 TO NEGOTIATE A TREATY ON BEHALF OF THE OLD SETTLER CHEROKEES IN ARKANSAS TERRITORY.

AND IT WAS DURING THAT TRIP THAT HE SAT FOR A PORTRAIT BY CHARLES BYRD KING WHICH IS THE ONLY IMAGE THAT WAS CREATED FROM LIFE OF SEQUOYAH.

AND HE ALSO WAS ABLE TO GIVE AN INTERVIEW VIA INTERPRETER TO SAMUEL KNAPP.

KNAPP ACTUALLY COMPARED HIM TO CADMUS WHO BROUGHT THE ANCIENT GREEK LANGUAGE TO THE GREEKS AND HE CALLED HIM THE AMERICAN CADMUS.

IN 1839, HE AGAIN SERVED AS A DIPLOMAT WHEN HE HELPED BROKER PEACE BETWEEN THE NEWLY ARRIVED CHEROKEES FROM THE EAST ON THE TRAIL OF TEARS AND THE WESTERN CHEROKEES THAT HAD ALREADY SETTLED IN THIS AREA AND HE WAS ACTUALLY A SIGNATOR ON THE ACT OF UNION OF 1839 WHICH UNIFIED BOTH FACTIONS OF CHEROKEE INTO ONE CHEROKEE NATION.

>> AT THE TRAIL OF TEARS, WHEN PEOPLE ARRIVED HERE THERE WERE THREE FACTIONS OF CHEROKEE'S AND HE WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT GOT ALL THE FACTIONS TOGETHER TO FORM ONE TRIBE AGAIN.

>> WITH A UNIFIED CHEROKEE NATION, PRINCIPAL CHIEF JOHN ROSS WAS ABLE TO SIT DOWN AND WITH OTHER LEADERS AND THEY WERE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO REESTABLISH THE CHEROKEE NATION IN INDIAN TERRITORY.

>> SEQUOIA HAD LEARNED THAT THERE WAS SUPPOSEDLY BAND OF CHEROKEE'S AND HAVE MADE THEIR WAY INTO THE MEXICAN TERRITORY.

AND HE SOUGHT TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM AND TO REACH THEM SO THAT HE COULD REUNIFY THE CHEROKEE PEOPLE.

AND SO HE ACTUALLY TRAVELED DOWN THERE WITH HIS SON T-C AND SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE.

>> THE TRIP TO MEXICO WAS LONG AND DIFFICULT.

THE JOURNEY TOOK ITS TOLL AND IN 1843, SEQUOYAH'S HEALTH BEGAN TO DETERIORATE.

WHEN HE COULD GO NO FURTHER, THE GREAT INVENTOR OF THE SYLLABARY LAY DOWN IN THE SHADE OF A TREE AND DIED NEAR THE VILLAGE OF SAN FERNANDO, MEXICO.

THOSE THAT WERE WITH HIM SAID HE WAS BURIED THERE IN AN UNMARKED GRAVE.

>> ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT HAPPENED WAS THE PARTS OF THE BIBLE WERE TRANSLATED INTO CHEROKEE AND THAT HAPPENED IN 1825.

THERE WAS A PRINTING PRESS THAT WAS DEVELOPED WITH THE HELP OF A MISSIONARY THAT LIVED AMONG THE CHEROKEES, SAMUEL AUSTIN WORCESTER, HE WAS ABLE TO HELP THEM DEVELOP A PRINTING PRESS SO THEY COULD FOUND THE FIRST NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER.

THAT WAS THE CHEROKEE PHOENIX AND THAT WAS THE FIRST ISSUE I BELIEVE FEBRUARY 21, 1828.

>> THE PHOENIX WAS FOUNDED IN 1828 BY ELIAS BOUDINOT WITH A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO HELPED HIM.

IT WAS PRIMARILY CREATED AS A -- I GUESS A PLATFORM TO SHOW NOT JUST THE LOCALS IN THE AREA BUT ALSO PEOPLE I GUESS NATIONWIDE, THAT WAS THE HOPE, TO SHOW THAT THE CHEROKEE PEOPLE WERE PROBABLY MORE CIVILIZED THAN THE PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS OF THE PEOPLE AT LARGE.

WE WERE TRYING TO MIMIC OUR WHITE NEIGHBORS, WE ESTABLISHED THE TRIBAL GOVERNMENT, WE HAD A COURT SYSTEM AND A NEWSPAPER WAS JUST PART OF THAT AT THE TIME TO SHOW PEOPLE THAT WE WERE CAPABLE, WE ARE INTELLIGENT.

PART OF IT WAS TO STAY ON OUR LANDS BACK THEN IN GEORGIA, OF COURSE IT DIDN'T WORK, BUT THE PAPER WAS A PART OF THAT.

>> I'VE HEARD STORIES WHERE PEOPLE WENT THROUGH THE CHEROKEE NATION AND SAW PEOPLE READING THE PHOENIX AND IT WAS ALMOST A SURPRISE TO THEM THAT THEY HAD THE PHOENIX.

IT WAS ODD FOR THEM TO SEE AN INDIGENOUS GROUP WITH A NEWSPAPER OUT IN THE OPEN AND READING IT.

ONE OF THE STORIES I HEARD IN PARTICULAR WAS THERE WAS A GENTLEMAN IN THE CHEROKEE NATION AND NOTICED THE CHEROKEE NATIVES THERE WERE READING ABOUT THE DISCOVERY OF POMPEII, AND THE RUINS OF POMPEII AND HE WAS JUST LIKE, "WELL, THIS IS CRAZY, I HAD NO IDEA YOU GUYS WERE THIS INTO."

>> THE PHOENIX SERVED AS A VOICE ON ISSUES RELEVANT TO CHEROKEES AND OTHER TRIBAL NATIONS AND WAS DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE U.S.

AND EVEN EUROPE.

NEVER THE LESS, THE PAPER WAS SHUTTERED IN 1834 DUE TO FIGHTING WITHIN THE TRIBE OVER THE ISSUE OF REMOVAL.

IN 1838, CHEROKEES WERE FORCIBLY REMOVED ALONG THE TRAIL OF TEARS TO INDIAN TERRITORY.

SIX YEARS LATER, A PAPER WAS SET UP AGAIN AND WAS CALLED THE CHEROKEE ADVOCATE.

THE ADVOCATE WAS CLOSED IN 1906 AND WAS NOT PUBLISHED AGAIN UNTIL 1975.

IN 2000, THE NAME WAS CHANGED BACK TO THE CHEROKEE PHOENIX AND CONTINUES TO USE THE SYLLABARY IN EVERY ISSUE.

>> IN THE EARLY VERSIONS OF THE PHOENIX, THERE WERE SOME STORIES THAT WERE PRIMARILY JUST IN THE SYLLABARY, THEY WERE STORIES THAT WERE JUST IN ENGLISH AND THEN THERE WAS KIND OF A MELDING AT SOME POINT.

NOW WE MIRROR THE STORIES TO WHERE YOU GET AN ENGLISH VERSION AND SIDE-BY-SIDE THERE ARE IS SYLLABARY.

>> IN OFFICES NEXT DOOR TO THE CHEROKEE NATION HEADQUARTERS IN TAHLEQUAH, THE STAFF PUTS TOGETHER A MONTHLY EDITION TO THE 190 YEAR OLD PAPER.

>> CURRENTLY WE HAVE 10 PEOPLE WORKING ON THE NEWSPAPER.

EDITORIAL PEOPLE, ADVERTISING PEOPLE, VIDEOGRAPHERS.

SOME OF US HAVE TO DO MORE THAN ONE JOB BECAUSE WERE A SMALL STAFF AND THAT'S HOW IT'S ALWAYS BEEN SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE AND I'VE BEEN HERE 24 YEARS.

>> TYPICALLY, WE LOOK AT STORIES THAT WOULD BE OF A SPECIAL INTEREST TO SOMEONE THAT DID SPEAK OR READ CHEROKEE, CULTURAL STORIES ARE ALWAYS POPULAR, HISTORY STORIES ARE ALWAYS POPULAR.

>> MAYBE FIVE TO FOUR STORIES A MONTH WE TRY TO TRANSLATE, WE HAVE TRANSLATED, WE HAVE A TRANSLATION DEPARTMENT WITHIN THE TRIBE THAT DOES THAT FOR US.

ALSO THEY ARE ABLE TO READ THOSE STORIES ON OUR WEBSITE ALSO IN THE SYLLABARY.

>> ANNA SIXLILLER IS ONE OF A HANDFUL OF FLUENT SPEAKERS, FOR 20 YEARS SHE HAS USED THE SYLLABARY TO TRANSLATE FOR THE PHOENIX.

>> WHEN WE FIRST STARTED OUT LISA AND I LAID OUT THE KEYBOARD, THAT WAS YEARS AND YEARS AGO, BUT ANYWAY IT TOOK ME A LITTLE WHILE TO LEARN WHERE ALL THOSE KEYS ARE FOR THE SOUNDS.

BUT NOW I DON'T HAVE TO HAVE ANYTHING TO GO BY OR TO LOOK AT, I CAN JUST TYPE IT OUT AND, AND ALL THE WORDS THAT COMES IN HERE TO TRANSLATE THIS.

SO THAT'S THE WAY I WRITE IT ON THIS WHEN I TRANSLATE IT, AND THEN I SEND IT BACK TO MY BOSS, AND MY BOSS WILL SEND IT TO THE NEWSPAPER.

>> THE CHEROKEE NATION, THE EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS AND THE UNITED KEETOOWAH BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS, THEY MEET QUARTERLY.

AND THIS GROUP IS CALLED THE CHEROKEE LANGUAGE CONSORTIUM AND IT'S COMPRISED OF FLUENT CHEROKEE SPEAKERS.

WHAT THEY DO IS THEY GET TOGETHER AND IF THERE ARE ANY REQUESTS FOR NEW TERMINOLOGY THEY WILL TRANSLATE THESE TERMS.

THEY ALSO REVIEW CURRICULUM, THEY RECORD TRADITIONAL STORIES AND OTHER TRADITIONS OF THINGS LIKE THAT, SO THEY'RE VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE GROUP OF ELDERS THAT ARE TASKED REALLY WITH AS KNOWLEDGE KEEPERS AND TO HELP THE CURRENT GENERATION TO KEEP LEARNING IT AND PASS IT ON.

>> GRAVITY, LET'S DO GRAVITY.

THAT MEANS IT PULLS, IT'S PULLING SOMETHING FROM HERE, IS PULLING YOU DOWN SO YOU WON'T BE FLOATING OUT IN THE AIR.

SO, THAT'S HOW WE -- THAT'S HOW WE TRANSLATE.

>> WE CATER PRIMARILY TO THE 14 COUNTIES.

WE ACTUALLY SEND OUR PAPERS NATIONWIDE, EVEN WORLDWIDE.

WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, MILITARY PEOPLE THAT SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PAPER ALL OVER THE WORLD.

THERE ARE PEOPLE ESPECIALLY FROM OUR AT-LARGE COMMUNITY THAT MOVE AWAY.

AND I THINK WHEN YOU LIVE IN TAHLEQUAH, OR YOU GREW UP IN TAHLEQUAH.

YOU SEE SYLLABARY ON SIGNS.

YOU SEE IT, YOU KNOW, ADVERTISEMENTS, YOU SEE IT ALMOST DAILY.

AND THEN WHEN YOU MOVE AWAY, YOU WOULDN'T THINK OF SOMEONE IS MISSING SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS JUST SEEING SYLLABARY, WHETHER YOU CAN READ IT, WHETHER YOU CAN'T READ IT, IT'S ALMOST LIKE A, IT COMES ACROSS AS A COMFORT TO SOME PEOPLE AND THEY SAY, "I CAN'T READ IT, I'M JUST HAPPY TO SEE IT IN THE PAPER."

THAT ALWAYS STRIKES ME AS INTERESTING.

AS JUST SEEING A THREE OR FOUR PARAGRAPHS AND SYLLABARY ALMOST, IT MAKES THEM NOSTALGIC FOR HOME AND THEY MISS THE AREA.

>> ANYTIME THERE IS A MONTH WHEN WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OR ANY SYLLABARY IN THE PAPER WE HEAR ABOUT IT.

OUR READERS ARE CONCERNED.

THEY DON'T WANT TO GO ANYWHERE AND IT WON'T.

IT'S AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR LANGUAGE.

IT'S AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR CULTURE.

TO REMOVE THE SYLLABARY FROM THE PAPER WOULD BE ANY DIFFERENT THAN IF WE JUST REMOVED ALL THE TEXT COMPLETELY AND SET OUT BLANK PAGES TO EVERYBODY, I THINK IT WOULD BE EXACTLY THE SAME THING IN MY EYES.

YEAH, AS LONG AS I'M HERE, THE SYLLABARY WILL BE IN THE PAPER.

>> I'VE BEEN TOLD BY THE TEACHERS THERE THAT THEY USE THE NEWSPAPER FOR THE CHILDREN TO READ THE STORY SO THEY CAN SEE HOW WELL THEY ARE DOING AS FAR AS LEARNING THE SYLLABARY.

>> JUST HAVING THE SYLLABARY IN THE PAPER IS -- I KIND OF FEEL LIKE THE CHEROKEE PHOENIX IS PART IN JUST THE LARGE PUZZLE.

BUT WITH THE IMMERSION SCHOOL AND YOU KNOW THE -- EVEN THE ADULTS LANGUAGE CLASSES, THEY ARE THE ONES THAT ARE DOING THE HEAVY LIFTING ON REVIVING THE SYLLABARY AND THE LANGUAGE.

>> WE TRY TO KEEP IT IN AS MUCH IMMERSION AS WE POSSIBLY CAN, BEING FULLY IMMERSED.

THE LANGUAGE ITSELF NEEDS TO BE SPOKEN AND HEARD AND RECEIVED FROM THE INSTRUCTORS TO THE CHILDREN.

>> THEY ARE LIKE ANYTHING.

SOME GET IT QUICKLY, MORE QUICKLY THAN OTHERS.

BUT THE MORE THEY STUDY IT AND ARE IMMERSED IN IT, ESPECIALLY HEARING IT ALL THE TIME, BECAUSE OUR TEACHERS HERE ARE, THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE IS CHEROKEE.

SO THEY'VE GOT THE CORRECT PRONUNCIATION, AND THE TOTAL SHIFTS AND EVERYTHING DOWN SO WHEN THEY SPEAK IT, WHEN THE CHILDREN HERE AT ALL THE TIME THEY PICK IT UP.

>> THE KIDS ARE DOING -- THEY ARE LEARNING CHEROKEE, HOW TO SPEAK IT.

FIRST THEY LEARN HOW TO SPEAK IT, THEN THEY LEARN HOW TO READ AND WRITE IT.

THEY'LL START TO WRITING THEIR SYLLABARY'S IN KINDERGARTEN, AND THEY'LL START READING, YOU KNOW.

AND THEN FROM KINDERGARTEN THEY GO ON UP TO AS, YOU KNOW, READING AND WRITING.

>> THERE IS A PROGRAM FOR SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADE.

AND WHEN THEY MOVE ON TO SEQUOIA HIGH SCHOOL, THEY CONTINUE STUDYING THE CHEROKEE LANGUAGE ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE 12TH GRADE.

>> THEY ARE SIMILAR TO BEING A SPONGE AT THAT AGE, THAT IS THE REASON FOR THE YOUNG TO AGE TO RECEIVE THE INTRODUCTION TO THE CHEROKEE LANGUAGE, BECAUSE OF THE NON-EXPOSURE AT HOME BECAUSE THE PARENTS THAT DON'T SPEAK THE LANGUAGE.

BECAUSE THAT'S HELPFUL TO HAVE FLUENT SPEAKERS IN THE CLASS TO HELP THEM ALONG.

>> FROM CURSIVE HANDWRITING, IT PROGRESSED INTO TYPE SET, THEN TO TYPEWRITERS AND WORD PROCESSORS.

WITH EVERY WAVE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY, THE SYLLABARY IS ADAPTED TO IT.

>> IT'S ON FACEBOOK, IT'S ON ONLINE ON GOOGLE.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD THAT ARE TRYING TO LEARN IT.

IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE THAT HE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD BECOME WHAT IT IS TODAY.

THE SYLLABARY IS UTILIZED IN ALL ASPECTS OF MARKETING AND NOW IT'S COMPUTER AGE, IT SOCIAL MEDIA, VIDEOS, BILLBOARDS, SIGNAGE.

>> SINCE TECHNOLOGY IS WHERE PEOPLE LIVE NOW, WE WANT OUR LANGUAGE TO BE THERE FOR THEM.

SO IF THEY WANT TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES IN CHEROKEE, THEY WANT TO COMMUNICATE WITH SOMEONE ELSE IN CHEROKEE, THEY WANT TO TWEET, SEND A TEXT, IF THEY MAKE A FACEBOOK POSTING, WHATEVER IT IS THEY WANT TO DO USING THE SYLLABARY THEY CAN DO THAT NOW.

>> IN 1829, SEQUOYAH BUILT A LOG CABIN NEAR WHAT IS NOW AKINS, OKLAHOMA.

SEVERAL YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH HIS FAMILY SOLD THE CABIN AND THE TEN ACRES TO A CHEROKEE FAMILY.

IN 1936, IT WAS SOLD TO THE OKLAHOMA HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND THE WPA BUILT A STRUCTURE AROUND THE CABIN TO SHELTER IT FROM THE ELEMENTS.

ZACH ADAIR IS AN INTERPRETIVE GUIDE AND GIVES TOURS TO GROUPS YOUNG AND OLD.

>> THERE'S A STATUE OF SEQUOIA RIGHT THERE AND WHAT I UNDERSTAND IS THE REASON WHY HE IS LOOKING UP IS BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO CAPTURE THE MOMENT HE, HE USED A LOT OF SMOKE AND CLOUDS TO GET SOME OF THE DESIGNS AND STUFF LIKE THAT SO HE COULD.

>> SO THE CHEROKEE NATION TOOK POSSESSION OF THE CABIN IN NOVEMBER 2016.

AND WHAT WE WANTED TO DO WAS WE WERE TO REDO THE EXHIBITS IN HERE BECAUSE THEY HADN'T BEEN UPDATED IN SEVERAL DECADES.

SO ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WE DID WAS WE ACTUALLY RE-DID THE WALL EXHIBITS AND SO WE REWROTE THE PANELS.

THIS IS ACTUALLY THE INSIDE OF SEQUOIA'S CABIN, AS YOU CAN SEE IT IS JUST A ONE-ROOM STRUCTURE.

AS FAR AS PERSONAL ITEMS GO, THIS SPINNING WHEEL IS ACTUALLY SEQUOIA'S.

>> WHEN I THINK ABOUT SEQUOYAH, I THINK ABOUT HIM AS GOING AROUND AND LISTENING TO THE SOUNDS OF THE CHEROKEE LANGUAGE.

AND HOW HE COULD DETECT THE DIFFERENT SOUNDS, THERE'S HOW MANY SYLLABARY'S?

I THINK, 86.

NOW JUST THINK, TO THINK OF ALL THE SOUNDS AND PEOPLE TALKING, ONE LANGUAGE, AND THEN WRITING THEM DOWN AND MAKING SYLLABLE FOR THAT SOUND AND THEN TO REMEMBER THAT SOUND IT'S REALLY, I HAVE TO HAND IT TO SEQUOYAH, I JUST REALLY HAVE TO, BUT I'M REALLY GLAD THAT HE DID.

BECAUSE I WANTED TO LEARN, I JUST THINK OF HIM AT ALL TIMES WHEN I WRITE WITH THE LANGUAGE.

EVEN TODAY.

>> HE OVERCAME ADVERSITY, HE WAS COMPLETELY ILLITERATE AND HE WAS THE ONLY PERSON IN 5000 YEARS OF RECORDED HISTORY TO DEVELOP A WRITING SYSTEM, WHEN HE WAS FORMALLY ILLITERATE.

>> WE ARE THE ONLY TRIBE IN AMERICA THAT HAS THEIR OWN WRITTEN LANGUAGE AND THAT'S SOMETHING FOR US TO BE PROUD ABOUT.

AND TO BE HONEST WITH YOU IT CAN BE CONSIDERED AMERICA'S LANGUAGE, BECAUSE IT'S THE ONLY WRITTEN LANGUAGE CREATED ON THIS CONTINENT.

>> I THINK HE WOULD BE REALLY AMAZED, AS GOING FROM HE DEVELOPED WRITING ON PAPER TO USING A TOUCH SCREEN TO WRITE HIS WRITING SYSTEM.

I THINK HE WOULD BE REALLY ASTOUNDED THAT WORDS COME, AND HE WOULD BE PROUD THAT WE STILL HAVE IT AND WE STILL USE IT.

HE REALLY WAS A GENIUS.

>> SEQUOYAH WAS A MAN WHO OVERCAME ENORMOUS SETBACKS AND USED HIS CREATIVITY TO HELP HIS PEOPLE SURVIVE DURING THE MOST DIFFICULT TIME IN THE TRIBES' HISTORY.

HIS GIFT HELPED THE CHEROKEES RECORD THEIR TRIUMPHS AND STRUGGLES.

IT IS A GIFT THAT ENDURES, GIVING FUTURE GENERATIONS THE ABILITY TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES USING WHAT WAS ONCE CALLED TALKING LEAVES.

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