In areas throughout the United States where American Indian tribes originated, old and even ancient artifacts turn up in the form of pottery, arrowheads, and more, when gardens are hoed and fields plowed. Yet, evidence of Cherokee life is visible from rural roadsides in western North Carolina due to a fairly recent educational program that appeals to history buffs.
In 2018, an organization called the Nikwasi Initiative, working with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians and Mainspring Conservation Trust, established the Cherokee Cultural Corridor to draw attention to areas where native villages once existed. Travelers can jump off the transcontinental Interstate 40 and not only enjoy exceptional mountainous vistas and pastoral scenes, but gain historical knowledge.
The Cherokee Cultural Corridor runs along more than 60 miles of the Little Tennessee River, from the North Carolina towns of Cherokee to Franklin and the headwaters of the river. Along this rural route, exploratory travelers will find information on kiosks that point to and explain important Cherokee landmarks and historic sites.
The Cherokee Cultural Corridor runs through what was known as the “mother towns” of the Cherokee tribe. These various “towns” included log homes where Cherokee lived, as well as fields where they grew such crops as corn and watermelons. The mother towns existed along the Little Tennessee River to take advantage of the fish that thrive there. In fact, fish weirs can sometimes be seen from different areas of the river’s shore. Fish weirs, or V-shaped obstructions made with rocks, enabled Cherokee to guide the fish to certain points so their nets and baskets could scoop them up.
“The Cultural Corridor affords a rare opportunity for people to build a rich, new intercultural understanding,” said Nikwasi Initiative’s executive director, Elaine Eisenbraun, who noted that signs are written in both English and the Cherokee syllabary. “Many of the hidden gems in this region are uncovered by understanding the original people of the place [Western North Carolina], who have always lived in harmony with the abundant and diverse geology, animals, and plants.”
When pulling over at a stop on the Cherokee Cultural Corridor, travelers will learn the peoples’ origins in the area as well as how they lived. Thus, when actually viewing ancient mounds, the fields, and the river, visitors can absolutely imagine life there a hundred, or even a thousand years ago.
At a few of the stops are mounds. In fact, at Nikwasi, situated on Main Street in Franklin, and Cowee (in a serenely rural spot between Franklin and Bryson City, North Carolina) are considered highly significant archaeological sites of the Mississippian period in North Carolina, where the presence of agriculture on the bottomlands dates back at least 3,000 years. Atop these mounds, which are still visible today, sat council houses that served as the principal diplomatic and commercial centers of mountain Cherokee life.
Travelers interested in checking out this off-the-beaten path historical opportunity could start in Franklin and circle through the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, before getting back onto I-40, or vice versa. The Museum of the Cherokee Indian, in fact, is an ideal stop for delving into the intricacies of the Cherokee peoples’ historically significant culture.
