Nununyi (or Nuanha) was a historic village of the

Cherokee people The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

in western

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, located on the eastern side of the

Oconaluftee River The Oconaluftee River drains the south-central Oconaluftee valley of the Great Smoky Mountains in Western North Carolina before emptying into the Tuckasegee River. The river flows through the Qualla Boundary, a federal land trust that serves as ...

. Today it is within the boundaries of the present-day city of

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

Swain County Swain County is a county located on the far western border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,117. Its county seat is Bryson City. Four rivers flow through the mountainous terrain of Swain County: t ...

. It was classified by English traders and colonists as among the "Out Towns" of the Cherokee in this area east of the Appalachian Mountains. The archeological site of "Nununyi Mound and Village Site," which contains evidence of

Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern United States, Midwestern, Eastern United States, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from appr ...

-period and historic Cherokee occupancy, was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1980.

Site location

The archeological site of "Nununyi Mound and Village" is located on the east side of the Oconaluftee River, in the bottomland, in modern

Cherokee, North Carolina Cherokee ( chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, translit=Tsalagi) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Swain County, North Carolina, Swain and Jackson County, North Carolina, Jackson counties in Western North Carolina, United States, within the Qualla Boundar ...

. The site was listed on the

as an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

in 1980.

History

Nununyi is believed to have been one of oldest of the Cherokee communities and was established on the

. As was common in these foothill areas, it developed around a single earthwork

platform mound Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

, believed to have been constructed by people of the

South Appalachian Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building large, earth ...

. There was also a village then, likely also developed about 1000 CE. As with many sites throughout this area, there were likely earlier indigenous cultures here as well. This part of the Southeast was occupied by 8000 - 1000 BC. When the Cherokee developed their historic town here, they constructed a

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

on top of the earthwork mound; it was their form of public architecture. The townhouse was a place for the whole community to gather, more egalitarian than the society that built the mounds and elite residences. when it needed to be replaced, it would be taken down and burned, with a layer of soil added. Another townhouse would be built on top. These actions gradually increased the diameter of the mound. American botanist

William Bartram William Bartram (April 20, 1739 – July 22, 1823) was an American botanist, ornithologist, natural historian and explorer. Bartram was the author of an acclaimed book, now known by the shortened title ''Bartram's Travels'', which chronicled ...

included Nununyi among the 43 Cherokee towns he identified in May 1776, spelling it "Nuanha" in his account. He noted that all the towns had people living in them. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, the colonies of Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia mounted an offensive against the Cherokee in all their towns because they had allied with the British. They ordered General

Griffith Rutherford Griffith Rutherford (c. 1721 – August 10, 1805) was an American military officer in the Revolutionary War, a political leader in North Carolina, and an important figure in the early history of the Southwest Territory and the state of Ten ...

, General of the Salisbury District, to undertake this offensive in September 1776. As part of the

Rutherford Light Horse expedition The Rutherford Light Horse expedition was a punitive military excursion launched against the Lower, Middle, and Overhill Cherokee settlements of the Cherokee Indians in the Appalachian region of North Carolina. This was in retaliation for the Na ...

, militia under the command of Colonel William Moore attacked Nununyi, Too-Cowee, and the Out Towns later that fall. The devastation caused by these militias was noted by

James Mooney James Mooney (February 10, 1861 – December 22, 1921) was an American ethnographer who lived for several years among the Cherokee. Known as "The Indian Man", he conducted major studies of Southeastern Indians, as well as of tribes on the Gr ...

, in his 1900 history of the Cherokee and their culture.James Mooney, 1900, pp. 48-52 After the war, in 1790 the Oconaluftee River was sometimes referred on state land grants to veterans as the "Nunai" river, likely a transliteration of Nununyi. Earlier alternate spellings on maps include "Newni", as shown on both George Hunter's Map (1730) and Thomas Kitchin's Map (1760, London).

Current status

The main

is still largely intact, although the Valentine brothers conducted amateur excavations here in 1883 while seeking artifacts for their father's museum in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. In 1950, the mound was identified as being about one mile upriver of Cherokee, which in the 21st century has expanded to it. It is on the eastern side of the Oconaluftee River, and in an area of bottomland of 65 to 70 acres. The Valentines identified an associated clay pit (

borrow pit Digging, also referred to as excavation, is the process of using some implement such as claws, hands, manual tools or heavy equipment, to remove material from a solid surface, usually soil, sand or rock on the surface of Earth. Digging is actuall ...

) about 800 feet from the mound. In the late 20th century, the mound and former town site were classified by the state as an archeological site, under

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

standards. The combined site was listed on the

in 1980. The Cherokee High School was constructed near this site. Outer areas of the archeological site have been damaged by development.

References

{{authority control South Appalachian Mississippian culture Cherokee towns in North Carolina Pre-historic cities in the United States Former populated places in North Carolina Geography of Swain County, North Carolina Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Swain County, North Carolina American Revolution on the National Register of Historic Places

Site location

History

Current status

See also

References