Cree syllabics were created in a process that culminated in 1840 by James Evans, a missionary, probably in collaboration with Indigenous language experts. Evans formalized them for Swampy Cree and Ojibwe. Evans had been inspired by the success of Sequoyah's Cherokee syllabary after encountering problems with Latin-based alphabets, and drew on his knowledge of Devanagari and Pitman shorthand.Andrew Dalby (2004:139) Dictionary of LanguagesGeorge Campbell & Gareth King (2018:462) The Routledge Concise Compendium of the World's Languages Canadian syllabics would in turn influence the Pollard script in China.John Nichols, 1996. "The Cree Syllabary". In Daniels & Bright, The World's Writing Systems, p 599ff Other missionaries were reluctant to use it, but it was rapidly indigenized and spread to new communities before missionaries arrived.
