Introduction
Over the years, I have enjoyed several
trips to Clingman's Dome, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Mom and Dad took us boys there. I think that I took a girlfriend or
two there. I've been there alone and with family and friends.
Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I have
been there. On 10/28/2007, I took the photograph, below, of the
observation tower on Clingman's Dome. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman is
standing, center, in the light blue sweatshirt. You're “busted”
dear!
Once, after Mom (Betty Lou Wood
Ferrell, 11/24/1932 - 12/27/2000) went to see Jesus, Dad (Earl
Ferrell, 9/17/1927 - 1/25/2008) admitted to us boys that he's walked
up the short and paved but steep trail, to the overlook, and walked
up the ramp to the viewing area (where Mrs. Appalachian Irishman is
standing in the photograph above). Dad had known damage to his ticker
(heart). Dad knew what he could and couldn't do. He knew what he
could do, if he took his time. Dad hiked Clingman's Dome – even
with his bad ticker! Yes, Dad was tough.
“Clingman's Dome”
not “Clingmans Dome”
The Great
Smoky Mountains National Park website has an article on
“Clingman[']s
Dome.” Y'all might want to check out the article.
I must correct the common
grammatical error! It is “Clingman's Dome” – not
“Clingmans Dome!” The apostrophe needs to come before the 's'
– as I will explain momentarily!
Clingman's Dome Could
Be Renamed “Kuwahi”
The Land Changed Hands
The Eastern
Band of Cherokee Indians, a sovereign nation, may petition the
USSA federal government, to return the original Cherokee name
“Kuwahi” to Clingman's Dome. I heard this the other day, on
the local TV news. Of several sources, I have selected, for this
article, TheSmokies.com
post, “Clingman[']s
Dome may soon receive a new name; what you should know,” by John
Gullion, updated 7/8/2022. The Tribal Council considers the
petition today (7/14/2022).
“Kuwahi” means “Mulberry
Place,” in English. Kuwahi has historical significance to the
Cherokee people. I suggest that you read the article that I have
referenced. The Cherokee people, as a larger nation, had lived in
the land for centuries. The Eastern Band of Cherokees, as a much
smaller nation, still lives there.
The federal government forced the
native Cherokee people off their land – in the Trail of Tears (1830
- 1850). In my bookcase, I have the book, by John Ehle
(12/13/1925 - 3/24/2018), “Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the
Cherokee Nation,” published in 1988. I bought and read the book
years ago. The moral failure of this once great nation to the
Cherokee people is profoundly sad, as an understatement. The
ideal principal, in the Pledge of Allegiance, of “liberty
and justice for all,” failed the Cherokee nation. Settlers took
over their land – for about a hundred years.
Of course, the USSA government has
owned the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park, for almost a hundred years. The United
States Congress chartered the park, in 1934. President Franklin D.
Roosevelt dedicated the park, in 1940. (One source is Great
Smoky Mountains Association, History
of the Smokies.) The Great Smoky Mountains National Park started
during the Great Depression. The New Deal, of socialism, was
underway.
By the way, I happened to find, at
Social History for Every
Classroom (SHEC), an interesting letter of 3/7/1934. See
“Anonymous, 'A
Citizen Claims the New Deal is a Path Towards Socialism,' SHEC:
Resources for Teachers.” New Deal socialism concerned that
writer, eighty-eight years ago. That concern has been ongoing.
Dad and Mom were children, in 1934.
The creation of the park forced the settlers -- whose ancestors had taken the land from
the Cherokee -- off their land. The “greater good” paid
those folks a little money – even if they didn't want to sell –
to get them off their land. This was another moral failure in
American history – from the stand point of “liberty and justice
for all.”
The land has changed hands three
times: the Cherokee, to the settlers, to the USSA government. In
the current “woke” (whatever that is) culture, names are
changing, monuments are coming down, and history is being rewritten.
I understand why the Eastern Band of Cherokee wants to rename
Clingman's Dome to Kuwahi. (See my next section.)
Thomas Clingman
The
North Carolina History Project article, “Thomas
Clingman (1812 – 1897),” written by Jonathan Martin, details
the life of Thomas Clingman, after whom Clingman's Dome was named.
(That's why “Clingman's” is correct, not “Clingmans.”)
Clingman was a Democrat, who served in the United States Senate, from
1858 until 1861. He thought, in error, that one man could own another
(slavery). He held the rank of colonel in the Confederate Army,
during the War Between the States.
I had never known the story behind the
naming of Clingman's Dome mountain, until I learned – a few days
ago – that the the Eastern Band of Cherokee wants to rename
Clingman's Dome to Kuwahi. Again, I understand why they want to
rename their ancestral mountain.
Knox County, Tennessee,
Needs to be Renamed!
I thought that I would learn how Knox
County, Tennessee, got its name – along with the city of Knoxville.
I did the research.
From City
of Knoxville, “Fun
Facts About Knoxville,” I learned:
Indians were the first settlers of Knoxville and East Tennessee. By
the time the first European settlers appeared, the Cherokees
dominated the region.
Knoxville was named after Henry Knox, President Washington's War
Secretary.
Who was Henry Knox? US
History includes “Historic
Valley Forge, Who Served Here? General Henry Knox: Page 2,”
which states, in part, as follows (with my bold yellow highlighting
added):
Knox was elected Secretary at War by Congress in 1785, and in 1789 he
was appointed Secretary of War in President Washington's new cabinet.
Conflicts with various groups of Native peoples primarily occupied
Knox in his role as Secretary of War. Knox
oversaw a government policy of steady removal of native people,
including the Creek and Cherokee, from their traditional lands.
The Cherokee people did not receive
“liberty and justice for all” – due to Henry Knox (and others,
as I am sure). My further
research found that the general area, of and around Knoxville and
Knox County, was a hunting ground for the Cherokee people. See The
Knoxville Focus archived article, by Mike Steely and City
of Knoxville, “History
of the City.”
I would understand, if the Eastern
Band of Cherokees wanted to petition the Knox County government and
the Knoxville City government, to rename Knox County and Knoxville to
an appropriate Cherokee name.
After all, my ancestry is
predominately Irish, and I know the oppression that the Irish
endured, by the British Empire and as immigrants to America.
(See, for example, my March
10, 2021 and January
30, 2022 articles.) I don't like “the fighting Irish” as the
nickname for the University of Notre Dame football team – even if
the name may signify a positive meaning!
Conclusion
It is the choice
of my readers, to determine if I write this article in sarcastic
humor or seriously. The Irish in me doesn't even know! Perhaps I
write with both sarcasm and seriousness. Go woke or go broke! Y'all
figure it out.
If the USSA government decides to
rename Clingman's Dome to Kuwahi – as the USSA demise into
“Socialist Utopian Oblivion” continues – then I won't mind
saying “Kuwahi.” Please,
however, forgive me, if my slip of the tongue says “Clingman's
Dome!” I would not want to be “canceled!” The Irish in me would
like to see anyone try to “cancel” me!
This once great nation did not
follow the biblical worldview – by taking land from the Cherokees
and by engaging in many other points of evil. This once great nation
still does not follow the biblical worldview – in majority.
Wake up (not “woke up”),
America! Return to the principals of the founding fathers – which
are based on the biblical worldview! Stand on the Rock. All other
ground is sinking sand.
Edward Mote, in
1834, wrote the hymn, “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less.” Verse
one:
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
The inspiration
for the hymn is the conclusion of Jesus' “Sermon on the Mount”
(in Matthew 5:1 - 7:28):
Therefore everyone who hears these words of
mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his
house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the
winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because
it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words
of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who
built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and
the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great
crash. (Matthew 7:24-27, NIV)
I have finished
and published my sermon finally. Do I hear an amen? I am still
thinking about doing a podcast sermon – audio and video.