Nokwisiyi (Star Place)

Nokwisiyi (Star Place). . , You are standing in the heart of the Cherokee town of Nokwisiyi, or Star Place. Its townhouse and ceremonial ground extended to the Little Tennessee River and beyond. Cherokee citizen Rebecca Katatihi shared her right to a 640 acre reservation, located just across the river from the Nokwisiyi mound, with her white husband Gideon Morris., Nokwisiyi , During the Removal era of the 1830s most Cherokee-related families around Nokwisiyi were forced off their land. Modern Franklin encompasses historic Nokwisiyi, or its anglicized name, Nikwasi., The people of Nokwisiyi were responsible for making religious objects of mica mined in the surrounding mountains. The items made here supplied many tribes and towns east of the Mississippi River and beyond.,

"The Nequassee council house was a large domed building. Inside were rows of cane seats surrounding the fire hearth and dirt floor....The building was packed with Kings, Princes, Warriors, Conjurers and Beloved Men from all the towns of the four Scattered Regions."- Alexander Cumming, 1728

, The ancient farmland of Nokwisiyi gradually gave way to commercial development by the 20th century. By the 1940's, the mound was threatened with leveling for development., Recognizing its cultural and community significance, school children in Franklin pooled their pennies and nickels to help purchase the mound for the Town. With nationwide contributions, the Mound was saved. Gradually it became an island surrounded by dilapidated buildings and brownfields., Council House , In large towns like Nokwisiyi the council house stood on a large earthen mound and was built to look like it was part of the mound itself. The council house was big enough to seat every member of town with room for guests. Our word for "council house" is tunilawisdi. This is the same word we use today for "church". Both are places of meeting and worship., In 2016, the local mountain communities united to create the Nikwasi Initiative, a joint citizen's effort to protect, interpret, and re-develop the many significant cultural and historic sites along the Little Tennessee - Tuckaseegee River corridor. The Nikwasi Initiative is jointly managed by Cherokees and their non-Cherokee neighbors. Franklin's Town Council transferred ownership of the mound site to Nikwasi Initiative in May of 2019.