After 165 years, the mountain peak previously known as Clingmans Dome has a new name.
The U.S. Board of Geographic Names last week renamed the popular destination within the Great Smoky Mountains to Kuwohi, a Cherokee name for the mountain that translates to “mulberry place.” The National Park Service said the peak is the highest point within the traditional Cherokee homeland and is its traditional name for the summit.
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“The Great Smoky National Park team was proud to support this effort to officially restore the mountain and to recognize its importance to the Cherokee People,” said Great Smoky Moutain Superintendent Cassius Cash. “The Cherokee People have had strong connections to Kuwohi and the surrounding area, long before the land became a national park. The National Park Service looks forward to continuing to work with the Cherokee People to share their story and preserve this landscape together.”
The name change came at the behest of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
"It’s an important and significant historic place for our people," Mary Crowe an organizer for the EBCI told the Cherokee One Feather. "We still recognize it today. When we look at the importance of these areas, it’s spiritual. We have to be true to our history and that’s what we want to bring—that educational knowledge of our true history back to who we are as a people.”
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Kuwohi welcomes nearly 650,000 visitors a year, the National Park Service said. Kuwohi is located about one hour from the resort city of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It is the highest point within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the third-highest point in the eastern U.S.
Clingman Dome was named in 1859 after Thomas Lanier Clingman, a lawyer, U.S. representative and senator from North Carolina, and Confederate brigadier general.
The National Park Service said it is in the process of updating signage around the park.
