Case file · Sacred site

Kuwohi, the White Bear's mountain

Kuwa'hi, 'Mulberry place', the highest peak in the Smokies, was home to the White Bear, chief of the bears, who were transformed Cherokee and held dances in townhouses under the peak each autumn.

1900 CE · 35.56, -83.50 · status: legend

The account

The enchanted lake of Atagahi, where wounded bears were healed, lay nearby. The peak was called Clingmans Dome from 1859 until the US Board on Geographic Names restored the name Kuwohi in 2024.

Connections in the atlas

Sources

  1. Mooney, Myths of the Cherokee (1900), Project Gutenberg
  2. Wikipedia: Kuwohi
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