Last night, in a bipartisan sponsored Resolution by Commission Chair Courtney Durrett and Third District Commissioner Gina Oster expressing support to join in asking the Federal Government to rename the highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains to it’s original Cherokee name Kuwohi, meaning ”Mulberry Place”.
Eight of the remaining Nine Commissioners became Ten of the Eleven Commissioners joining in as Prime Cosponsors of the Resolution. Commissioner John Schoonmaker being the “one”.
Lavita Hill (who joined the meeting by Zoom) in answering a question had said that the TN Legislature joined in support. Commissioner Schoonmaker came back and became ugly when he said that he does his homework and that the Resolution had not passed the TN State House. He also made a comment about whoever was advising her to her right. It was ugly on Schoonmaker’s part, in my humble opinion.
Hill said the person to her right is her husband, she turned the computer to show her husband relaxing on a sofa. She then referenced HJR452 (screenshot below).
Schoonmaker came off in my opinion as an angry, white, entitled male.
Maybe Schoon needs to be retained in US History, third grade!
Let’s remember, before the Europeans fled for Independence from King George of England, the Indians (indigenous) were here. The Indians were relocated from their home along the Trail of Tears for the white man to use the land as their own and ultimately create a National Park to fund Federal Government.
While we celebrate 1776, let us not forget that was for white men, our country had enslaved black people until 1865. Only until August 18, 1920 was the 19th amendment ratified to give Women the Right to Vote.
While as a Country, we moved the true inhabitants of this land away from their home, we possessed enslaved people until 1865 and didn’t allow the women to be equal in voting and making decisions until 1920.
Now, Schoonmaker doesn’t think it is appropriate to change the name of Clingman’s Dome (which is the observation point aka deck) as its known worldwide. Schoon made reference that it was named for a Democrat North Carolina Elected Official. source: here.
In 1859, the mountain was renamed by Arnold Guyot or compatriot Thomas Lanoer Clingman (1812–1897), a Confederate General of the American Civil War who explored the area extensively in the 1850s and then spent many years promoting it.
They want to name the Mountain Kuwohi not necessarily the observation deck.
