The effort to change the name was led by Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, who first settled the mountain in the Smokies and consider it sacred.

Kuwohi, which translates to “mulberry place” in Cherokee, replaces Clingmans Dome, a name that honored Thomas Clingman, an expelled U.S. senator-turned-Confederate brigadier general who, as a lawyer, defended settlers’ claims on Cherokee land. Clingman is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Asheville.

The highest peak in the sprawling Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now called by its Cherokee name 'Kuwohi.'