Great Smoky Mountains Natl. Park — The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians may soon ask a federal board to restore the name of a popular mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains to what the tribe originally called it before Native Americans were removed from their homes.
Clingmans Dome is named after Thomas Clingman, a U.S. Senator who represented North Carolina and who had no significant ties to the Cherokee people, according to a resolution the tribe is expected to discuss. He is known for arguing that slavery should be maintained in the days leading up to the Civil War. He ended up fighting against the U.S. as a Confederate general but was given amnesty after the war.
Before a European-born geographer surveyed the mountain and renamed it in 1859, the tribe said Clingmans Dome was called "Kuwahi" or "ᎫᏩᎯ." The Cherokee word "ᎫᏩᎯ" means "mulberry place."
The mountain holds special significance for the tribe.
"From time immemorial, Cherokee people have occupied the lands of western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and other parts of what is today the southeastern United States," they said. "From time immemorial, the landscape, including the mountains and streams, has shaped our history as Cherokee people."
Kuwahi is the highest point in the tribe's area. It was visited by medicine people who prayed and sought guidance from a deity called, in English, "the Creator." They sought guidance on how to lead the tribe, later returning to the towns and offering advice.
According to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Kuwahi was an important part of their teachings. For example, they said that the Bears, often seen as an ally to the Cherokee people, met in council under Kuwahi.
The tribe's ancestors were also forced to go to Kuwahi as they were forcibly removed.
Arnold Guyot is the geographer who renamed the mountain. He previously advocated for an antiquated racist theory in a manuscript called "The Earth and Man: Lectures on Comparative Physical Geography in its Relation to the History of Mankind."
"The history of the re-naming of Kuwahi to 'Clingmans Dome' shows that the name of Clingman was designated by a proponent of scientific racism (Guyot) on behalf of an avowed racist (Clingman) in an action that was disrespectful to Cherokee people, culture, history and tradition," according to the proposal.
They also said that the U.S. Department of the Interior and Secretary Deb Haaland have shown a willingness to revert the names of places to their historically appropriate names, prompting the proposal. In June 2022, the National Park Service announced that the name of Mount Doane was being removed from Yellowstone National Park's mountains and was replaced by the name "First Peoples Mountain."
Secretary Haaland also established a "Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force" to examine more than 660 geographic features.
"The name Clingman is not derogatory in and of itself, but the history shows the act of changing the name of Kuwahi to 'Clingman's Dome' was racist and that the racist action should be acknowledged and corrected," they said in the proposal.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians said they will prepare an application to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names to restore the name "Kuwahi." Information about when that application could be ready was not immediately available.
The tribe's next meeting is on Thursday, July 14.
80 years of mountain memories
