ᏃᏈᏏᏱ ᎠᎵᏖᎸᏗ
Noquisi Initiative
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PC: Scott McKie B.P./One Feather Photo
Our Mission:
Noquisi Initiative preserves, protects, and
promotes culture and heritage in the original homelands of the Cherokee people.
Our Vision:
Until intercultural understanding is universal!
Noquisiyi (later interpreted as Nikwasi) means star place and was a Cherokee town situated in present-day Franklin, North Carolina.
Though its exact age remains unknown, Noquisiyi appears on maps as early as 1544, and British colonial records first mention it by name in 1718.
At the heart of Noquisyi on the banks of the Little Tennessee River, the town's meeting hall once towered over the landscape, built atop the mound which was formed by Cherokee women carrying baskets of soil to that location. Today, Noquisiyi Mound, the settlement's only surviving landmark, rises as the gateway to Franklin.
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news
Franklin Town Council paves way for Noquisiyi Mound deed transfer to EBCI.
The Franklin Town Council approved a resolution that paves the way for the deed of the Noquisiyi (formerly known as Nikwasi) Mound to be transferred from the Noquisi Initiative to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The Town Council approved the resolution unanimously during its regular monthly meeting at the Franklin Town Hall on Monday, Jan. 5.
Cherokee One Feather: Property adjacent to Noquisi Mound recieves Cherokee name.
FRANKLIN, N.C. – A small piece of property located adjacent to the Noquisi Mound, sometimes referred to as the Nikwasi Mound, has been given a Cherokee name. Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) approved Res. No. 344 (2024) during its clean-up session on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025 that designated the 0.56 acre lot adjacent to the Mound as Gaduni Kanohesgi which means “The Franklin Storyteller”.
Cherokee One Feather: When a man really cares.
Noquisiyi (previously known as Nikwasi) Mound stands silently and patiently in Franklin, N.C., waiting for the time when it can be embraced again with ceremony and spirit, when its history and meaning can be reinvigorated and understood by everyone. One man is working diligently to carry us into that time of reborn awareness, respect, and dignity from all people.