Several hundred years ago the Cherokee people lived in parts of what are now Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Virginias. The Cherokee people were not migratory. Instead they farmed, hunted, and tended livestock.
People like to name natural features. In Appalachia, place names often stand out because of the wide variety of ethnic groups that have settled the region. Many places, like Cullowhee and Nantahala, retain their Cherokee names.
Tonya Carroll (B.A., 2007 M.A., 2009) with Bruce Frazier (Carol Grotnes Belk Endowed Professor in Commercial & Electronic Music) in the recording studio.