After months of debate, Franklin Town Council voted unanimously Monday night to transfer the deed for Nikwasi Mound over to nonprofit Nikwasi Initiative. 

The volunteer board members of the nonprofit Nikwasi Initiative are appreciative of the public’s interest in our mission and role in development of a cultural corridor extending from south Macon County to the Qualla Boundary. We would like to take this opportunity to go into more detail about the Initiative.

Franklin Mayor Bob Scott hopes he can push town council and Nikwasi Initiative board members toward a compromise before a final vote is taken on whether to transfer ownership of the Nikwasi Mound. 

By Bob Scott • Guest columnist

As mayor of Franklin, my duty and loyalty is to the town. With that being said, I will be blunt. Turning the town’s Nikwasi deed over to the Nikwasi Initiative — in my opinion after 17 years’ service to Franklin’s Town Council — is not in the best interest of the town at this time. 

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On Tuesday, April 16, the lecture series “Where We Live: History, Nature, and Culture” at Cowee School Heritage Center, will present a program by Dr. Ben Steere on the Nikwasi Mound in Franklin, an important Cherokee cultural site. 

From the outside looking in, the current Nikwasi Mound disagreement in Franklin seems almost contrived. I mean, do serious people truthfully believe that the volunteers who comprise the Nikwasi Initiative and who are seeking ownership of this historic Native site have any intentions other than honorable ones? 

And, as town board member Joe Collins said so succinctly in the Franklin Press, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is a wealthy tribe. Tribal leaders and the Cherokee Preservation Foundation have millions of dollars to invest in preserving Cherokee culture. Turning the mound over to this initiative would do a lot to attract funding, subsequently turning the mound into a significant cultural attraction rather than just an afterthought for a town that has many important issues affecting its taxpayers.

Tensions ran high at Monday night’s Franklin Town Council meeting as the board sat before a packed room of residents there hoping to sway the town one way or another on the future of Nikwasi Mound. 

By Bob Scott • Guest Columnist

Five years ago, as mayor, I was placed in the position of defending the Town of Franklin against undue criticism of the town’s stewardship of the Nikwasi Mound. I am again in that position as the recently formed 501 C(3) Nikwasi Initiative has asked the Town to deed the Mound to the Initiative to “give the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians joint ownership with us and ensure that, in perpetuity, they share equally with us in its care and preservation.” (I am not sure whether the ‘us’ is the town or the Initiative).

A group of Macon County residents plan to file a complaint seeking an injunction to keep the town of Franklin from giving up its sole ownership of the Nikwasi Mound.