The same may certainly be said about the general public as a whole—at least those who have any knowledge of this towering figure. In a way, he has become more myth than actual man. Because of the role he played, the amazing accomplishments of his life, a number of books, both nonfiction and fiction, have been written about him. Interestingly, though, both the fictional representations of his life and the imaginative recreations of his story often contain information that is speculative at best and historically inaccurate at worst. A truly authoritative, accurate, and comprehensive book about Sequoyah’s life and accomplishments—not just as the creator of his syllabary but as a peacemaker and astute political leader—has yet to be written, and there are aspects of his life that will always remain a mystery.

The reading list that follows should not be seen as exhaustive or as a sole source of information. Consider it a starting point toward a deeper understanding of a people, a place, a history, and a time that I believe should be better known.

A Cherokee Encyclopedia by Robert J. Conley. University of New Mexico Press, 2007.

The Cherokee Nation: A History by Robert J. Conley. University of New Mexico Press, 2005.

History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees (1890–1891) by James Mooney. Cherokee Publications, 2006.

Sequoyah by Grant Foreman. University of Oklahoma Press, 1938.

Sequoyah, the Cherokee Genius by Stan Hoig. Oklahoma Historical Society, 1995.

Sequoyah’s Gift: A Portrait of the Cherokee Leader by Janet Klausner and Duane H. King. HarperCollins Publishers, 1993.

Trails of Tears, Paths of Beauty by Joseph Bruchac. National Geographic Society, 2000.

I also recommend visiting the websites of the Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina, the Museum of the Cherokee (www.cherokeemuseum.org/), the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma (www.Cherokee.org), and the Cherokee Heritage Center (www.cherokee heritage.org/)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My interest in Cherokee history and culture stretches back more than five decades. This novel is the seventh book I’ve written or edited that focuses on the people who call themselves Aniyunwiya—the Principal People. Aniyunwiya, in fact, is the title of an anthology of contemporary writing by Cherokee authors that I edited two decades ago. Tsalagi, the name usually written as “Cherokee,” seems to have been derived from “Cha-la-kee,” a word in another southeastern indigenous language, Choctaw, that may be translated as “Those who live in the mountains.” (It is amazing how many of the popular names used by non-natives are names those tribal nations never used to call themselves. Iroquois, Sioux, Navajo, Apache. The list is long.)