🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Sequoyah’s Cabin

(Explore the history and landscape of the United States as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of American Independence. Get out your atlas and almanac and follow along!)

Oklahoma is our homeschool state-of-the-week, so why not spend a few minutes today with your students learning about one of Oklahoma’s most important historical places: the Sequoyah’s Cabin Museum, which protects and interprets the log cabin where Cherokee leader Sequoyah lived from 1829–1844.

“Sequoyah, a significant figure in American history, was monumental in the creation of the Cherokee language. Sequoyah’s Cabin Museum, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1829 and has been maintained and furnished to appear as it did centuries ago. Experience what it was like when Sequoyah actually lived at this National Literary Landmark. Stroll the surrounding 10-acre park and take in the natural beauty of Sallisaw, Oklahoma.”

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. The result of his work, the Cherokee syllabary, 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 in 1936. The shelter over the building was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1936, and is surrounded by a 10-acre park. The cabin and surrounding park, now owned by the Cherokee Nation, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965. And, as for all other already-designated National Historic Landmarks, it was automatically listed on the new National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. (wikipedia.org)

You can find a wealth of additional information about this site’s history, landscape, location(s), and visitor facilities on the webpage for Sequoyah’s Cabin from the National Park Service, and also on the site’s page on Wikipedia.

Explore America’s National Parks, National Historical Parks, National Historic Sites, National Monuments, and more via Wikipedia and via the U.S. National Park Service’s website today.

What American treasures are you and your students exploring in your homeschool this Hercules Term? 🇺🇸

❡ The great globe itself: This is one of our regular Homeschool Geography posts featuring important natural and historical sites in the United States. Print your own copy of our River Houses American Heritage Calendar and follow along with us, and add your name to our weekly mailing list to get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox all through the year. 🌎

❡ We set to-day a votive stone: If you want a great long-term history and geography project for your homeschool, explore the Historical Marker Database online (hmdb.org) and make a plan to find all the markers that are listed in your local area. Add any new ones you know of that are missing, and add new photos or descriptions for the ones already included. Your students will gain a better appreciation for your local community and will learn a wealth of new information about history and geography. 🏛️

❡ Print this little lesson: Down at the bottom of this post you’ll find a special “Print” button that will let you create a neat and easy-to-read copy of this little lesson, and it will even let you edit and delete sections you don’t want or need (such as individual images or footnotes). Give it a try today! 🖨️

❡ Books in the running brooks: You can always turn to your River Houses atlas and almanac for more information about any of our homeschool states-of-the-week. The almanac has detailed profiles of all the U.S. states and territories, and the endpapers of the atlas are indexes that will show you where all of the individual national and regional maps may be found. 📚

❡ Homeschool calendars: We have a whole collection of free, printable, educational homeschool calendars and planners available on our main River Houses calendar page. They will help you create a light and easy structure for your homeschool year. Give them a try today! 🗓️

❡ Support our work: If you enjoy our educational materials, please support us by starting your regular Amazon shopping from our very own homeschool teaching supplies page. When you click through from our page, any purchase you make earns us a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for helping us to keep going and growing! 🛒