Sequoyah

A giant wooden head sculpture representing Sequoyah (1770-1840), inventor of the 85-character Cherokee syllabary, stands on the front lawn of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, North Carolina. Hand-carved by artist Peter Wolf Toth from a single giant redwood log over four months, it was dedicated September 30, 1989 as the 63rd sculpture in Toth's nationwide 'Trail of the Whispering Giants' series honoring Native Americans, commissioned at the request of Eastern Band of Cherokee Chief Robert S. Youngdeer and museum director Ken Blankenship. Sequoyah is depicted crying, a reference to the Cherokee Trail of Tears; roughly 250 people attended the rainy dedication ceremony, at which Toth was made an honorary member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee.