The highest peak in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is getting its original name back. Clingmans Dome will now be called, “Kuwohi,” which translates to “mulberry place,” in Cherokee.
Earlier this year, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians asked the U.S. Board of Geographic Names to change the mountain’s name for the record.
Kuwohi is considered sacred by the Cherokee people. It’s the highest point in Tennessee and the third highest summit east of the Mississippi. Clingmans Dome was named following an 1859 survey. The geographer gave it the name for Thomas Lanier Clingman, a lawyer, U.S. Representative and Senator from North Carolina, and Confederate Brigadier General. But the National Park Service points out that the peak has always been known as Kuwohi to the Cherokee people.
“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 park Superintendent Cassius Cash. “The Cherokee People have had strong connections to Kuwohi and the surrounding area, long before the land became a national park.”
Every year, more than 650,000 people visit the mountain, making it one of the most popular sites in the park.
