Digaduhna Nelson, an enrolled member of the EBCI will be demonstrating blacksmithing. Demonstrating silver smithing will be artisan, Allen Fugate; before becoming a blacksmith, Sequoyah was a silversmith and storyteller Bob Eldridge.

 “This is a day to remember the man who gave the Cherokee people their own written language,” said Charlie Rhodarmer, museum manager/director. “In 5,000 years of human civilization, Sequoyah is the only man, not literate in any language, who created a written language for his people.”

Sequoyah was born circa 1776 in the village of Tuskegee, near modern day Vonore. He spent most of his life in the Overhill Cherokee area, where he began creating a Cherokee writing system.

After 12 years of work, Sequoyah finished the Syllabary in 1821 while living in Willstown, Ala. The Cherokee Nation adopted the Syllabary and within two years most of the Cherokee people had become literate in their own language. After living a brief time in Arkansas, Sequoyah moved to the Indian Territory, known today as Oklahoma.

In 1842 Sequoyah volunteered to go with other Cherokees to find a group of Cherokees that had left the Overhill area during the American Revolution and had headed toward Texas or Mexico. Sequoyah died on this trip in August 1843. There are several stories about how Sequoyah died and it is not known where he is buried.

“We invite people to visit the museum on Sunday and learn more about Sequoyah’s fascinating life and experience modern Cherokee culture,” said Rhodarmer. This event is sponsored by the Cherokee Preservation Foundation.

The museum is located on Highway 360 in Vonore, about one mile from the Highway 411 intersection. For more information, call (423) 884-6246.