Commissioners in Swain County, North Carolina, approved a 90-day ban on development near Kituwah, the ancestral Cherokee home.

The county wants to develop regulations that will affect a Duke Energy substation. The public will be given a chance to comment on the development.

“The Swain County moratorium has allowed residents, leaders and the tribe an opportunity to present alternatives to the construction of the substation near the Kituwah site,” Eastern Cherokee Chief Michell Hicks told The Asheville Citizen-Times. “We are working diligently to provide options for Duke Energy and will continue to keep the lines of communication open.”

Kituwah is the birthplace of the Cherokee people. It was home to the tribe's ancestral village and the site of a year-round sacred flame.

Get the Story:
Duke substation near sacred Cherokee site halted (The Asheville Citizen-Times 3/16)

Related Stories:
Cherokee tribes discuss sacred site with company (2/19)
Editorial: Don't put electrical station near sacred site (2/16)
Eastern Cherokees oppose building near site (2/11)