The Cherokee name for Clingmans Dome was Kuwa'hi, or mulberry place. According to a Cherokee myth recorded by ethnologist James Mooney in the late 19th century, the mountain was the home of the White Bear, the great chief of all bears, and the location of one of the bears' councilhouses. The enchanted lake of Ataga'hi (Gall Place), the waters of which could cure wounded bears, was believed by the Cherokee to be located somewhere between Clingmans Dome and the headwaters of the Oconaluftee River to the east.