The Cherokee Phoenix

by Rebecca May Davie

As the first Native American newspaper, it was also one of the few bilingual papers. From what I was able to discover, the only other paper in existence at the time was The Baton-Rouge Gazette. This edition existed in French and English from 1819-1856. It is possible that the German paper, Die Bloomfield Germania was in print at that time, though I was unable to locate an initial year or whether it featured both languages.

Consider the significance of this achievement. Sequoyah created a syllabary, enabling the possibility of the Cherokee language in print. (You can read more about Sequoyah here.) Their system of communication is in effect shortly after they adopted the syllabary. This printed resource then provided information for Cherokee and English speakers alike. It enabled connection between the Cherokee in what is now Georgia and other locations in America. They became united as the plight to stay on their land unfolded. 

On July 4, 1776, Congress declared, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” It is heartbreaking to recall that still in the 1830s of America, not all were treated as such. Newcomers forced out those who lived there first. Without getting in too deep, suffice it to say there were individuals claiming the Cherokee were not capable of “civilization.” Ponder that for a minute. Their successes to that date portrayed a different story: syllabary, bilingual printed news, governing body, and much more.

This book, Records of the Moravians offers first-hand accounts of missionaries in The Cherokee Phoenix. Featured on the cover is an image of the original publication. 

Timeline for The Cherokee Phoenix

1825 – The Cherokee adopted Sequoyah’s Syllabary. Without it, the newspaper would not exist.

1827 – In October, Elias Boudinot submitted a proposal for the newspaper.

1828 – On February 21, they printed the first edition of The Cherokee Phoenix in New Echota, Cherokee Nation (present day Georgia).

1829 – The name evolved to The Cherokee Phoenix and Indian Advocate.

1834 – Cherokee government no longer had funding to print the paper. The Georgia Guard destroyed the office and press.

1844 – Cherokee citizen William Potter Ross published the paper as The Cherokee Advocate.

1975 – The Cherokee People approved a new constitution. The Cherokee Advocate officially returned.

2000 – The name changed again to The Cherokee Phoenix and Indian Advocate.

2007 – The publication reclaimed the original name – The Cherokee Phoenix.

Present day – The Cherokee Phoenix is present in print, online, on radio shows, and on social media. What would Sequoyah and Elias think of those avenues?

The timeline above proves resiliency. Look at the current Cherokee Phoenix. If you would like to see the original paper, the Library of Congress has scanned copies available. How neat is that? Read the March 6, 1828, edition. Or if you care to learn more about the history, peruse this post from The New Georgia Encyclopedia.

Rebecca May Davie is the YouVersion Content Creator for NBS2GO/ Neighbor Bible Studies 2GO - a Cru Ministry. She has uploaded over 71 plans on the Bible.com app. Rebecca is living in the mountains with her husband, the youngest of their two sons, and a rescued dog named Ranger. If it were up to her, she would be traveling right now. She is working on her first fiction novel. This story unfolds from the 1830s in Northern Georgia. Connect with Rebecca:

Website 

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“Let your fiction grow out of the land beneath your feet.” – Willa Cather

Sequoyah - Creator of the Cherokee Syllabary

Language. One simple word that is anything but.

 
I am infatuated with languages. I remember pretending to speak my own version and mimicking accents with friends when I was a young child. All these years later, I am still hoping to earn the Polyglot moniker. Why is language so alluring? What captivates my interest? Is it the accents, dialects, idioms, structures, history, etymology, or entwined cultures? Each of those aspects and so many more feed my fascination. Merriam-Webster.com defines language as “the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a community.” So, to the above list, I will add… the people.

 
Without the gift of language, especially in written form, we would have limits. The ability to write and record language opens doors to connect, read, learn from afar, work, collaborate, send a note – email – text, and even formulate TikTok videos.

 
If you would like to see variations of language, try Google translate. Type in a short sentence and find the result in a few of their 109+ offerings. Most even have a speaker option so you can hear the answer. Experiment with an unfamiliar tongue to see and hear the diversity. Many languages have beautiful fonts and bonny tones. Two weeks ago, I was working with Burmese for our ministry. Are you familiar with their characters? They are lovely. The following sentence means I love to read.

ဖတ်ရတာ သဘောကျတယ်။

Have you ever considered how languages develop over time? This is a lengthy process tied to history, the influences of other cultures, and other factors. Language is not commonly the project of a single person. Yet there is a monolingual individual without a formal education, who had no knowledge of writing or reading, who assembled a complementary syllabary to his spoken language. How could he generate a system that would be of immediate use and go on to influence the formation of other languages? Sequoyah, a Cherokee, also known as Sogwali, accomplished this feat.

Sequoyah observed the Caucasian settlers where he lived. They had the ability to communicate across distances. He discussed this among his people who were not in favor of recording their thoughts. In their opinion, this was witchcraft. Despite this challenge, he continued to contemplate the scenario when he served in the US Army during the War of 1812. Fighting in the battle at Horseshoe Bend, he watched soldiers employing this method to connect with fellow soldiers and family.

When he returned to civilian life, he toiled as a blacksmith. Out of necessity, he needed a system to record orders and payments. As he was artistic, he would sketch the customers’ likenesses and would use a rudimentary system to retain amounts and objects. This became labor-intensive over time. It is speculated that due to this need and what he observed in exchanges between soldiers, he began the arduous task of creating a solution. 

Sequoyah invested 12 years to compose a system of 86 characters that placed on paper what was an oral language up until that point. Due to his usage of syllabary (characters representing sounds), rather than individual letters, the compilation was easy to master. His daughter was the first to use the written characters. She participated in demonstrations for the Cherokee to prove the efficacy and remove doubts or superstitions. Sequoyah and his daughter went to separate locations. They each wrote messages to the other, then exchanged the missives. They employed this process to prove that the syllables did indeed represent sounds for communication.

The Cherokee Nation adopted Sequoyah’s syllabary in 1825, which spread quickly. This invention allowed them to write a constitution and print the Cherokee Phoenix, a newspaper. These were crucial elements during a harrowed time. It is recorded by the Cherokee Nation of Sequoyah, “He accomplished a feat, which no other person in history has done single-handedly…he brought our people literacy and a gift of communicating through long distances and ages. This one person brought to his people this great gift without hired educators, no books and no cost.” -Georgia Historical Society.

If we consider Sequoyah’s contribution to the Cherokee alone, he provided a means for his nation to communicate across distances. He enabled them to design and record a constitution. The first bilingual and tribal newspaper in the US, the Cherokee Phoenix was born. All these accomplishments were key as they began the fight to remain on their land. In addition, due to the success of his syllabary, other people groups developed their own systems. Sequoyah influenced over 20 scripts for more than 65 languages.

If you would like to learn more about Sequoyah and his life, this video gives a short history.

Do you speak languages other than your native tongue? How would your days be impacted if you only had means of oral communication?

Rebecca May Davie is the YouVersion Content Creator for NBS2GO/ Neighbor Bible Studies 2GO - a Cru Ministry. She has uploaded over 66 plans on the Bible.com app. Rebecca is living in the mountains with her husband, the youngest of their two sons, and a rescued dog named Ranger. If it were up to her, she would be traveling right now. Not quite a polyglot, Rebecca speaks English and French as her L2. College courses last year gave her a rudimentary grasp of Italian. She hopes to learn Spanish next. Meanwhile, Rebecca is working on her first fiction novel. This story unfolds from the 1830s in Northern Georgia.

Connect with Rebecca:  Website 

Clubhouse Facebook Goodreads Instagram Pinterest Twitter.

Vinnie Ream, Sculptor

With Nancy J. Farrier

A friend shared a factual tidbit on Facebook a couple of weeks ago about Vinnie Ream being only 18 when the U.S. Congress hired her to do a sculpture of Abraham Lincoln. A woman. Only 18. I shared that tidbit on my Facebook page and then wondered about the rest of this woman’s story. Fascinated by what I found, I decided to share her information with you.

Lavinnia Ellen Ream, born in 1847, showed an artistic interest at an early age. She studied art in school, but when her family moved to Washington D.C. in 1861 she began to tutor under Clark Mills. Mills was finishing a bronze Liberty sculpture.

While studying with Mills, Vinnie met many congressmen and was commissioned by some to do a bust of them. Her work was so popular that in 1864 Congress asked her to do a bust of Abraham Lincoln.

In 1866, Congress commissioned her to do a commemorative statue of Abraham Lincoln. At that time Vinnie was only eighteen and was the first woman commissioned by the federal government for such a project.

Lincoln Statue
By Einar Einarsson Kvaran

Vinnie made the model for the statue in her studio, but traveled to Rome where she would make the Lincoln statue in Carrara marble. She studied with many artistic masters, some on her way to Rome, when she stayed in Paris and then in Rome when she was at work on the commissioned statue. While there, she also made busts of Franz Liszt and Cardinal Antonelli.

She returned with her creation in late 1870 and the statue was unveiled in January 1871. Ream designed Lincoln so that he is looking down at his right hand, which holds a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. His left hand is holding back his cloak. The piece is serious and contemplative, possible the way she thought of the former President.

During the next few years, Ream did many portraits of well-known American

Kirkwood: Architect
of the Capital

figures. Among them were General Ulysses S. Grant and General George A. Custer. She also did some sculptures, many of them noteworthy.

In 1878, Vinnie married Richard L. Hoxie, who she met when she was doing a sculpture of Admiral David G. Farragut. She made this sculpture from the propeller of the naval hero’s flagship. The statue was unveiled in 1881.

After the Farragut statue was complete, Vinnie stopped working for a time in accordance of her husband’s wishes. They had one son and she spent time raising him and caring for her family.

Sequoyah

In the early 1900’s she renewed her art work. She did a stature of Samuel Kirkwood, the Iowa governor, and a statue of Sequoyah, the Cherokee who developed the Cherokee written language.

Vinnie Ream was a woman of many firsts, and of great renown. Her story is inspiring and little known. In addition to her art, she used to work with the soldiers at the hospitals during the Civil War, writing letters for them and entertaining them with music. She was an accomplished musician. Vinnie died in 1914 and is buried in Arlington Cemetary. Her grave is marked by the sculpture she did, Sappho.

Sappho
By cliff1066

Have you heard of Vinnie Ream before? Can you imagine having accomplished so much at such a young age? Have you ever visited Washington D.C. and seen any of her art work?

Nancy J Farrier is an award winning author who lives in Southern California in the Mojave Desert. She loves the Southwest with its interesting historical past. Nancy and her husband have five children and two grandsons. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats, and spend time with her family. Nancy is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Literary Agency. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.