Clingmans Dome receives a name change

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Clingmans Dome receives a name change

Kristina Plaas photo

The U.S. Board of Geographic Names voted to change the name of Clingmans Dome to Kuwohi.

Kuwohi is the Cherokee name for the mountain and translates to “mulberry place.” In Cherokee syllabary, the name is ᎫᏬᎯ.

The National Park Service strongly supported the name restoration and applauds today's decision, which also received support from local communities and governments.

Kuwohi is a sacred place for the Cherokee people and is the highest point within the traditional Cherokee homeland. Kuwohi is visible from the Qualla Boundary, the home of the EBCI.  Efforts are already underway to update signage, website and other materials with the Kuwohi name.

The proposal was submitted in January of this year by EBCI Principal Chief Michell Hicks following an effort started in 2022 by Lavita Hill and Mary Crowe, both enrolled EBCI members, to restore the traditional name of the summit. 

Kuwohi is one of the most popular sites in Great Smoky Mountains National Park with more than 650,000 visitors per year. It is the tallest point in Tennessee and the third-highest summit east of the Mississippi River. 

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The park closes Kuwohi for three half days annually to provide access to predominantly Cherokee schools to visit the mountain and learn the history of Kuwohi and the Cherokee people from elders, Cherokee language speakers, culture bearers and community members.  

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

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