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Highest peak in Smokies restored to original Cherokee name, Kuwohi

Kuwohi is a sacred place for the Cherokee people and is the highest point within the traditional Cherokee homeland.

Great Smoky Mountains Natl. Park — The highest point in the Smoky Mountains has been renamed to honor its significance for the Cherokee people.

You may know the mountain as Clingmans Dome. But, after a formal request was submitted by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), the name was changed to Kuwohi.

Kuwohi (pronounced koo-WHOA-hee) is the Cherokee name for the mountain and translates to "mulberry place". The Cherokee syllabary for it is ᎫᏬᎯ.

Kuwohi is a sacred place for the Cherokee people and is the highest point within the traditional Cherokee homeland.

The mountain has always been known as Kuwohi to the Cherokee people. The mountain was named Clingmans Dome following an 1859 survey that named the mountain for Thomas Lanier Clingman who was a lawyer, U.S. Representative and Senator from North Carolina, and Confederate Brigadier General.  

But now, the mountain's name has been restored. The request was submitted by the EBCI Principal Chief Michell Hicks in Jan. 2024 after the initial effort was championed by  Lavita Hill and Mary Crowe, both enrolled EBCI members.

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