By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
KUWOHI – Two Cherokee women spearheading an effort to restore the name of Kuwohi to an area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park have been recognized by the State of Tennessee. Mary “Missy” Crowe and Lavita Hill, both members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), were honored by the Tennessee General Assembly recently with the passage of Bill H.J.R.452.
Lavita Hill and Mary “Missy” Crowe, both members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, are shown outside the Tribal Council House immediately following Tribal Council’s passage of their resolution in July 2022 that gives support from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for their effort to restore the name of Clingman’s Dome to Kuwohi – the original Cherokee term for the place. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)
Crowe and Hill began a quest in the summer of 2022 to have the name of the area in the Park currently known as Clingman’s Dome restored to the name known by Cherokee people for centuries – Kuwohi meaning ‘mulberry place’.
The H.J.R. 452, submitted by State Rep. Justin Jones (D-District 52), states, “Ms. Crowe and Ms. Hill are testaments to the power of dedication and determination, and their laudable mission deserves to be acknowledged; now, therefore, be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the One Hundred Thirteenth General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, the Senate concurring, that we honor and commend Mary Crowe and Lavita Hill on their efforts to restore the traditional Cherokee name of ‘Kuwohi’ to Clingman’s Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”
Hill told the One Feather, “I am grateful to the Tennessee General Assembly for passing H.J.R. 452, which shows some support for our efforts to seek the restoration of the Kuwohi name. The joint resolution wishes us well in our efforts going forward. We appreciate the support from the State of Tennessee and look forward to working with the Board on Geographic Names to get this name restoration done. We also appreciate Gov. Bill Lee (R) signing this resolution into Tennessee law.”
The legislation passed 92-0 in the Tennessee House of Representatives on March 20, 2023, and it passed 31-0 in the Tennessee Senate on March 30, 2023. Gov. Lee signed it on April 11, 2023.
In late 2022, Crowe and Hill were honored for their efforts with the North Carolina Dogwood Award presented by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein who said of them in a statement, “Lavita and Mary are working to make sure that their Tribe’s history is recognized and honored. They are advocating to restore the name Kuwohi, which means ‘mulberry place’, from Clingman’s Dome, which was named for a Confederate general. In doing so, their efforts will help to commemorate the long history of the Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina.”
The EBCI Tribal Council passed a resolution in July 2022 supporting the name restoration effort. The resolution states that Kuwohi “is the highest point in our area and has significance to us as Cherokees as it was visited by medicine people who prayed and sought guidance from the Creator regarding important matters facing our people, and then returned to our towns to give guidance and advice.”
In June 2022, Crowe spoke to the One Feather of the history of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians whose ancestors went west prior to the Indian Removal Act due to a prophecy an elder received at Kuwohi. “It’s an important and significant historic place for our people. We still recognize it today. When we look at the importance of these areas, it’s spiritual.”
She added, “We have to be true to our history and that’s what we want to bring – that educational knowledge of our true history back to who we are as a people.”
