Permanent Kuwohi signage installed in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WATE) — New signs directing visitors to the highest point in Great Smoky Mountains National Park have been installed after federal officials approved a request to change the name of Clingmans Dome back to its Cherokee name.
On September 24, 2024, the US Board of Geographic Names approved a formal request submitted by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to change the name of Clingmans Dome to Kuwohi. Kuwohi (pronounced koo-WOAH-hee) is the Cherokee name for the mountain and translates to “mulberry place.”
Visit Gatlinburg shared images of new permanent signs along Newfound Gap Road that reflect change and how it’s known in the Cherokee syllabary, ᎫᏬᎯ, on June 24, 2025.
Credit: Visit Gatlinburg
Credit: Visit Gatlinburg
Credit: Visit Gatlinburg
Kuwohi is the highest point in Tennessee and one of the most popular sites in the Smokies, with over 650,000 annual visitors. The mountain became known as Clingmans Dome after an 1859 survey by geographer Arnold Guyot. It was named for Thomas Lanier Clingman, who was a lawyer, U.S. Representative, and Senator from North Carolina, and a Confederate Brigadier General.
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“This was where our cultural leaders would go to pray, to seek guidance, just to talk to the Creator, and listen, in order to guide our people,” said Lavita Hill, a tribal member who helped lead the name change efforts. “We know that the medicine men would go there as well to gather the mulberries, and the mulberries were used as food and as medicine.”
Cherokee oral teachings also tell stories of Kuwohi being a place where the first leaders or elders held their Council. Today, the EBCI Tribal Council meets in Cherokee, North Carolina. The Tribal Council formally approved the name restoration effort beginning in July 2022. The movement garnered support from several communities near the park, including Knox and Campbell counties in Tennessee and Buncombe County, North Carolina.
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