HorseChief Selected To Create Sequoyah Statue For NSU

TAHLEQUAH Cherokee artist and sculptor Daniel HorseChief was recently selected to create a bronze sculpture of Cherokee alphabet creator Sequoyah for Northeastern State University.

The NSU Centennial Sculptures Selection Committee picked HorseChief from four finalists who presented maquettes of Sequoyah statues for review by the committee and members of the NSU communities.

I have had an interest in Sequoyah and his legacy for a long time, said HorseChief. A Cherokee Nation citizen, I have grown up with being told about Sequoyahs incredible accomplishment, and have an appreciation for his life and work. In addition to being an artisan, blacksmith and warrior, his role as a mediator and diplomat between the different factions that resulted at a difficult time in our history is also to be commended. Being born of two worlds and having a physical disability, he was, nevertheless, able to be a traditionalist Cherokee and a progressive writer of the Cherokee syllabary.

HorseChief was born Jan. 3, 1969 in Muskogee, Okla. Following his graduation from Muskogee High School, HorseChief attended NSU for two years. He earned his associates degree in Museum Studies from the Institute of the American Indian Arts in Santa Fe in 1995.

HorseChief is the great-great grandson of John Thompson Adair, who served as superintendent of the Cherokee National Female Seminary, and as a judge and chief justice for the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court for 35 years.

I am very happy for this opportunity to display my work on the NSU campus, said HorseChief. I am a former student of NSU, as were my parents, grandmother, two brothers, sister, brother- and sisters-in-law, and most of my relatives. Members of my family have attended classes in Seminary Hall from seminary days to the present and it will give me great pride and pleasure to have future generations see my sculpture of Sequoyah on campus when they attend NSU.

The statue, to be unveiled in August 2008 as NSU celebrates 100 years of excellence, will lie south of Seminary Hall in the heart of Centennial Plaza, an area of campus that will undergo significant redesign in the coming months. The area is traditionally recognized as the official entrance to campus.

Northeastern State Universitys Centennial Celebration formally begins on the first day of classes in August 2008 and will conclude in December 2009