Cherokee Nation Publishes Its First Written Constitution
The Cherokee Phoenix was the first Native American newspaper printed in the United States. Its editor, Elias Boudinott, along with tribal leaders of the Cherokee Nation intended to reach two different audiences: Cherokee nationals and white sympathizers who supported Cherokee autonomy. This March 6, 1828, issue prints the concluding sections of the Cherokee Constitution of 1827, providing for three branches of government and defining the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation. The newspaper, partially in English and Cherokee, uses the eighty-six-character syllabary devised by Sequoyah in 1821.
The <em>Cherokee Phoenix</em> was the first Native American newspaper printed in the United States. Its editor, Elias Boudinott, along with tribal leaders of the Cherokee Nation intended to reach two different audiences: Cherokee nationals and white sympathizers who supported Cherokee autonomy. This March 6, 1828, issue prints the concluding sections of the Cherokee Constitution of 1827, providing for three branches of government and defining the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation. The newspaper, partially in English and Cherokee, uses the eighty-six-character syllabary devised by Sequoyah in 1821.