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Last week, the Noquisiyi Mound in neighboring Franklin returned to the care of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians after more than 200 years.

The historic moment followed a unanimous city council vote in early January and culminated Friday in a vibrant celebration, where members of the town and tribe gathered to pray and dance beside the site.

鈥淚t was just full circle,鈥� said Angelina Jumper, a 91女神 alumna and cultural preservation officer for the EBCI. 鈥淚t was the moment that I was like, 鈥楾his is exactly where I鈥檓 supposed to be, with all of these people around me right now, and we鈥檙e all supposed to be here.鈥欌��

Reflecting on the mound鈥檚 long absence from Cherokee stewardship, Jumper added, 鈥淪omebody had that in their mind when they watched the mound go into hands that were no longer Cherokee hands, and so I hope whoever that was that saw that and felt that way knew that we were going to be there, 207 years later, in the same spot.

鈥淭here are generations of DNA finding healing in those moments, and I just get to be lucky enough to physically see it.鈥�

Jumper is a member of the nonprofit Noquisi Initiative, a coalition of native and non-native advocates that has pushed for the mound鈥檚 return since 2015. She celebrated alongside Franklin mayor Stacey Guffey, a Macon County native and founding member of the group.

鈥淎t the celebration, almost everybody I talked to used the same phrase: 鈥榓 long time coming.鈥� And it certainly has been,鈥� Guffey said.

鈥淲hen you secure sites like this, it鈥檚 a great day for the Cherokee people, but it鈥檚 really a great day for all mountain people. I hope this builds more of a sense of community and being neighbors and friends region wide.鈥�

Guffey was joined by several other WCU alumni, including EBCI member Tonya Carroll, who also serves on the Noquisi Initiative and attended the Jan. 5 council vote.

Carroll expressed gratitude to advocates who worked for decades to protect and educate the public about the site.

鈥淲hile Cherokee people have not held formal title to the land for more than 200 years, that does not mean it was ever lost or forgotten,鈥� Carroll said. 鈥淐herokee people have known and visited the Noquisiyi Mound since it was built, one basket of dirt at a time. Our connection to that place has remained unbroken.

鈥淩eturning the land of the Noquisiyi Mound to the EBCI represents a meaningful step toward justice in addressing the long history of land dispossession forced upon Indigenous peoples. It also recognizes that our culture and ancestral knowledge make us the best people to care for our places, as our ancestors intended.鈥�

Nearly 1,000 years old, the Noquisiyi Mound was built in the Southern Appalachian Mississippian tradition by the Anigaduwagi, ancestors of the modern Cherokee people. It once served as a 鈥渕other town鈥� within a network of settlements throughout the Little Tennessee River Valley and remains the largest unexcavated mound in the Southeast.

The site first saw military occupation in 1761 during the French and Indian War, when soldiers razed the surrounding lands and used the townhouse atop the mound as a field hospital. It was again used as a staging ground for attacks in 1776.

The final dispossession came in the early 19th century, when the North Carolina General Assembly ordered the land sold 鈥� this despite the fact that a Cherokee woman, Rebecca (Na-Ka) Morris, sister of warrior Junaluska, had acquired the parcel earlier that same year. After her home was burned, Morris successfully challenged the theft in court and won monetary reparations that allowed her to buy another plot adjacent, one of the earliest recorded victories of its kind for an Indigenous woman.

The property later passed through several non-Native owners before local preservation efforts gained traction. In 1946, when the mound was threatened by highway expansion, it was purchased and protected by the Macon County Historical Society and the Town of Franklin.

Debates over stewardship continued into the 21st century. In 2019, following controversy after pesticides were sprayed on the site, Franklin transferred the deed to the Noquisi Initiative to strengthen public education and preservation efforts. With last week鈥檚 vote, the mound has now returned to Cherokee ownership.

WCU anthropology professor Ben Steere wrote extensively about the mound鈥檚 history and its mythological significance in his paper, 鈥�The Nikwasi Mound: Archaeology, Preservation and Politics in the Eastern Cherokee Heartland.鈥�

鈥淣oquisiyi鈥� translates to 鈥渟tar place.鈥� As a mother town, it once kept an eternal fire that burned for centuries and is believed to be home to the Nunne鈥檋i, immortal warriors said to emerge in times of conflict to aid the Cherokee.

For Steere and others, the return reflects the success of years of partnership.

鈥淭he Town of Franklin鈥檚 resolution to return the mound to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is exciting news and the result of meaningful partnerships between the Eastern Band, the Noquisiyi Initiative and many people in the region who care about preserving this important place,鈥� Steere said.

The return also arrives amid broader reflection on mound preservation in Western North Carolina.

In 1954, just 20 miles away, WCU expanded its campus and destroyed the mound at Tali Tsisgwayahi, or 鈥淭wo Sparrows Town, 鈥漚 decision scholars have since sought to address through research and expanded Cherokee programming.

Andrew Denson, director of Cherokee studies at WCU, said a persistent challenge is the tendency to treat native history as past rather than present.

鈥淭here鈥檚 this tendency in non-Native communities to recognize Native history because it鈥檚 interesting, but to do it in a way that relegates native people to the past,鈥� Denson said. 鈥淲hat we鈥檙e trying to do at Western is recognize the cultural significance of these places in a way that reinforces our commitment to collaborate with the Eastern Band not just about the past, but the present.鈥�

WCU anthropology students are also contributing through noninvasive research at the nearby Watauga Mound. Using ground-penetrating radar and magnetometry, they study subsurface features without disturbing the site.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very clear these sites are important to the community, and that they should not be disturbed,鈥� said Jane Eastman, associate professor of anthropology. 鈥淭here are things I鈥檇 love to know, but it鈥檚 more important that we respect the trust of those who are invested in this and leave what should remain undisturbed.鈥�

For students and scholars alike, the return of the Noquisiyi Mound stands as a reminder of what sustained advocacy, partnership and an unbroken connection to the land can accomplish.

Asked on her advice for current Catamounts, Jumper shared these words: "If you see something that needs to be done in the right way, or you see something not being done in the right way and you want to see that shifted, don鈥檛 give up. Continue to fight for the right thing鈥� I think that the mound in Noquisiyi has been working its way back to the tribe for some time, and we just had a really awesome and amazing group of people not stopping that push, and it slowly but surely has made its way back."