Leaders in Franklin, North Carolina, won't be apologizing to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for spraying weed killer on the Nikwasi Indian Mound.

Alderman Bob Scott drafted a letter to the tribe but other leaders said there was no need to apologize. They defended the decision to use an herbicide on the historic site even though the tribe wasn't consulted beforehand.

"I don’t think we did anything destructive,” alderman Sissy Pattillo said, The Smoky Mountain News reported. “And I have a problem with the chief or whoever saying we did something disrespectful. That just bothers me.”

The herbicide killed all of the grass on the mound, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Get the Story:
Franklin balks at apology for killing mound grass (The Smoky Mountain News 5/16)

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Town offers apology for spraying herbicide on historic mound (5/9)
Eastern Cherokees upset over use of weed killer on mound (5/2)