She Brought Happiness

I found it fitting to take a portion of OUR name : Lee (I took on her name ) & combine it with A-Yo-Ka (A Cherokee name w/c means “she brought happiness”).

Tattle Tea 🍵

A-Yo-Ka is the daughter of the famous Native American leader Sequoyah (1767–1843), who invented the syllabary of the Cherokee language -a written system that took the tribe from what was once considered an illiterate group to one of the best educated people in the country during the early-to-mid 1800s.

When Sequoyah observed his people using marks on paper to record their thoughts/ideas as a form of communication,(calling it “talking leaves”), he decided to create a system w/c consisted of pictures to represent each syllable in hopes of preserving the culture. His friends & family thought he was crazy, suggesting it was impossible to do. Through his diligence, he created 85 symbols, one for each syllable in the Cherokee language that would allow his people to communicate & transmit their own stories/messages. A-Yo-Ka helped her father complete the work & was learning the syllabary herself at the age of 6.

After word of the syllabary spreading, Sequoyah & A-Yo-Ka were charged with witchcraft & were brought to trial before their town leader. They were forcibly separated, then asked to exchange messages using the script to prove their works. Though they were able to communicate successfully, some still believed they used magic.

In 1825, Cherokee leaders made Sequoyah’s system the official written language of the Cherokee people & still use it 'til this day. Learn more about Sequoyah & A-Yo-Ka’s story