Sequoyah's Cabin is a

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

and historic site off

Oklahoma State Highway 101 State Highway 101 is a state highway in Sequoyah Co., Oklahoma, in the United States. It runs from US-59 north of Sallisaw to the Arkansas state line. After crossing the line, it becomes Highway 220. The highway connects to Sequoyah's Cab ...

near

Akins, Oklahoma Akins is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 493 at the 2010 census, an increase of 9.8 percent over the ...

. It was the home between 1829 and 1844 of the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

Indian ''

Sequoyah Sequoyah ( ; , , or , , ; 1770 – August 1843), also known as George Gist or George Guess, was a Native American polymath and Constructed script, neographer of the Cherokee Nation. In 1821, Sequoyah completed his Cherokee syllabary, enabl ...

'' (also known as George Gist, c. 1765–1844), who in 1821 created a written language for the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

. The cabin and surrounding park was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1965 and is now owned by the

Description

Sequoyah's Cabin is located east of Akins on the east side of State Highway 101 at a point where it makes a northward jog. The cabin itself is a single-story log structure with a gabled roof, on of land that has a park-like setting. The cabin is now sheltered from the elements by a brick structure built in the 1930s. There is a bronze statue of Sequoyah outside. The house is maintained as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

and is furnished to appear as it might have when Sequoyah lived there. There are relics and documents associated with his life.

History

Sequoyah was born about 1770 to a Cherokee mother and a white or half-white father, on the ancestral lands of the Cherokee in the southeastern United States. Unschooled except in tribal ways and customs, he came to understand the value of writing, especially in dealing with adjacent British settlers. In 1809 he began to work on a writing system for the

Cherokee language file:Cherokee Speakers by County, 2000.png, 350px, Number of speakers file:Lang Status 20-CR.svg, Cherokee is classified as Critically Endangered by UNESCO's ''Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger'' Cherokee or Tsalagi (, ) is an endangere ...

. The result of his work, the

Cherokee syllabary The Cherokee syllabary is a syllabary invented by Sequoyah in the late 1810s and early 1820s to write the Cherokee language. His creation of the syllabary is particularly noteworthy as he was illiterate until its creation. He first experimen ...

, continues to be used today. In the 1820s he moved west, to instruct western Cherokees in the writing system. It is during this period that this cabin was built, in 1829. The cabin was acquired by the

Oklahoma Historical Society The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma dedicated to promotion and preservation of Oklahoma's history and its people by collecting, interpreting, and disseminating knowledge and artifacts of Oklahoma. ...

in 1936. The shelter over the building was built by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

in 1936, and is surrounded by a park. The cabin and surrounding park, now owned by the

, was declared a

in 1965. and And, as for all other already-designated National Historic Landmarks, it was automatically listed on the new

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on October 15, 1966. In 2016, the

purchased the cabin and its property for $100,000."Cherokee Nation Purchases Sequoyah’s Cabin from Oklahoma Historical Society"
''Indian Country Today'', November 10, 2016, updated September 13, 2018. Accessed November 7, 2021.

References

External links

Sequoyah's Cabin Museum
Cherokee Nation
Sequoyah's Cabin State Park
(archived fro
the original
on January 26, 2010)

Explore Southern History. Photos. {{Cherokee Biographical museums in Oklahoma Cherokee Nation buildings and structures Cherokee Nation (1794–1907) buildings and structures Historic house museums in Oklahoma Houses completed in 1829 Houses in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Oklahoma Museums in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma National Historic Landmarks in Oklahoma National Register of Historic Places in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma Native American museums in Oklahoma Oklahoma Historical Society Works Progress Administration in Oklahoma

Description

History

See also

References

External links