Mountain in U.S.A. Loses Confederate Name
The tallest peak in the traditional territory of the Cherokee has been restored 150 years after being changed
The highest peak in Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been officially changed to its ancestral Cherokee name, more than 150 years after it was named after a confederate general.
A request from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to change the name Clingmans Dome to Kuwohi was accepted by the US Board of Geographic Names this week. The Cherokee name of Kuwohi translates to mulberry place. Thomas Lanier Clingman was a Confederate brigadier general.
“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,” Superintendent Cassius Cash said in a press release. “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.”
Kuwohi is the highest area in the traditional Cherokee homeland. Great Smoky Mountains National Park closes the mountain every year so children at Cherokee schools can visit and learn about the history. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is America’s most visited national park.
