Since the early nineteenth century, scholars have marveled at the unlettered Cherokee native named Sequoyah--or Sikwaya--and also known as John Guess--or Guest or Gist--who, unassisted, developed a medium for the written expression of the Cherokee language that was uniquely appropriate to the peculiarities of the spoken language. There is much uncertainty and disagreement among Sequoyah's biographers about the facts of his life. A controversial biography, "Tell Them They Lie: the Sequoyah Myth," by Traveller Bird is in disagreement with other published works in almost every particular. Sequoyah's date of birth, his parentage, his occupation, and the origin of his name are all disputed along with questions about how and why he invented the syllabary. Most authorities agree that the Cherokee syllabary, as invented by Sequoyah, was perfected in 1821 after 12 years' work and was successfully demonstrated at a trial by tribal authorities. Many sources describe the rapid acceptance of Sequoyah's syllabary by the Cherokee Nation, which began in 1828 to publish the "Cherokee Phoenix," a dual language newspaper in English and Cherokee. Sequoyah was honored for his invention by the Cherokee Nation in 1825 and by the United States government in 1828. (JHZ)