Sequoyah, the Cherokee statesman renowned for inventing the Cherokee alphabet, stands over 8-feet tall in the garage of John Baden’s Oologah welding shop.

A work-in-progress for the past 12 years, the bronze replica of the esteemed Cherokee leader, crafted by Native American artist and Claremore resident Ed Rackleff, should be completed and unveiled for the first time as a finished project at the Pocahontas Picnic on Saturday at the Will Rogers birthplace in Oologah.

The Sequoyah work has been a labor of pride and love for Rackleff.

Both the artist and the welder say a lot of hard work, sweat and blood have gone into the statue’s completion.

It is not the first project Rackleff and Baden have worked on together.

“I built the statutes for Sandra Van Zandt in 1994,” said Baden. He said that project was to complete statues of Navy pilots on display at Pensacola, Fla. “I did all the welding. Ed did the wax work on those.”

That partnership set up the friendship that led to the current working relationship between the two men.

When complete, Rackleff’s Sequoyah, cast in silicon bronze, will weigh 800 pounds and be made of 80 pieces.

Baden does the welding, then Rackleff comes along behind and finishes out the detailing.

Rackleff sculpted the likeness in clay, starting around 1994 and finishing at the University of Tulsa sculpting department in 1996. He did the molding at home.

A Cherokee himself, Rackleff said he wanted to do the project as a gift for generations to come. Sequoyah was a giant in Cherokee history, he said, who gave the Cherokee people the gift of the written language.

Rackleff does not yet know where the statue will end up. Many people have shown interest, including the representatives from the Cherokee Nation. It is his hope it will remain in Oklahoma near the Trail of Tears and the Cherokee Nation capitol.

Baden has lived in Oklahoma since 1968. Prior to retirement, he worked for McDonell-Douglas in Tulsa. He opened his welding shop, Baden’s Helliarc Welding, in Oologah in 1979. He retired in 1995 from his shop, but continues to weld.

“I work all the time,” said Baden. “It don’t give you time to get old.”

Who was Sequoyah?