Political correctness has now invaded the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Clingmans Dome is getting a name change.
The highest peak in the Smokies is one of the most popular spots in the park – more than 650,000 people annually visit Clingmans Dome.
The site named after U.S. Sen. Thomas Clingman in 1859. He was a renowned explorer and the first person to accurately measure the peak’s elevation. He later served as a general in the Confederate War.
And since Clingman was a white guy and he fought in the Confederate War – well – you know the rest of the story.
The U.S. Board of Geographic Names voted in favor of changing the name to Kuwohi – a Cherokee Indian word meaning “mulberry place.”
“This significant moment honors our ancestors and strengthens our connection to this sacred land,” said Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Chief Michell Hicks in a written statement.
The National Park Service said they strongly supported the name change.
“The Great Smoky (Mountains) National Park team was proud to support this effort to officially restore the mountain and to recognize its importance to the Cherokee people,” Supt. Cassius Cash said in a written statement. “The Cherokee people have had strong connections to Kuwohi and the surrounding area, long before the land became a national park. The National Park Service looks forward to continuing to work with the Cherokee people to share their story and preserve this landscape together.”
As I wrote in my new book, “Twilight’s Last Gleaming,” there will come a time in American history when every building, monument, street, park or city named after a white guy will be erased.
Remember the words of George Orwell in his dystopian novel, “1984.”
“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped,” he wrote.
The Park Service says the peak is a sacred place for Indians. There’s no word just yet if pale faces will still be allowed to visit. Click here to read my book.