Book excerpt: The United States was growing at a rapid pace. For the settlers who were pushing west to the frontier and the Native Americans who were protecting their lands, life was filled with danger and difficulties. People who wove their way into history overcame their challenges with a courage that defined an era and shaped a nation. Sequoyah, a Cherokee Indian, is best known for inventing a system of writing for the Cherokee language. In 1821, after more than a decade of work, he succeeded in creating a set of symbols to represent the sounds of spoken Cherokee. The new written language was easy to learn and helped boost ethnic pride. Sequoyah won the respect of his people and was soon operating as a delegate in Cherokee dealings with the United States. He died in 1843 on a mission to unify the Cherokee people.