Indian Mound Research Completed

The Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has completed the background research and a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey of the Sequoyah Hills Indian Mound on Cherokee Boulevard as requested by the Deputy to the Mayor and Chief Operations Officer for the City.

The purpose of the investigation was two-fold: First, to add context to the question of whether the mound was built millennia ago by Native peoples or in the 1920s by developers, the Sequoyah Hills Company, to add to the appeal of Sequoyah Hills. Second, a GPR survey was conducted, which could help detect and delineate the footprint and possibly layers of the mound, if present.

Archival research revealed that Clarence B. Moore recorded the mound as a Native American mound during his 1914 trip up the Tennessee River to investigate mound sites. Moore had been recording mounds since the early 1890s across the Southeast. His expertise and the fact that his trip predates the purchase of the property by the Sequoyah Hills Company by a decade lends credence to its indigenous origins. In addition, the researchers found the mound shares characteristics with other Late Woodland and Early Mississippian mounds in Knox County specifically and East Tennessee more broadly.

The GPR survey, conducted on August 15, 2022, was suggestive but not conclusive in determining the footprint of the mound according to the report. The researchers concluded that the mound is an indigenous space. Their recommendation is that the City of Knoxville consult with the 11 Native Nations to determine a management plan for the mound.

The researchers also recommend that the “Kingston Pike-Sequoyah Hills Association, comprised by members of the neighborhood, initiate a collaborative relationship with the 11 Native Nations to discuss the treatment and commemoration of the mound as a sacred space. Such discussions may relate to the relocation of historical markers, benches, and memorial markers on and immediately adjacent to the mound to further limit daily intrusions, as well as the development of more appropriate signage that allows the Native Nations to be active participants in telling their (hi)stories.”