The North Carolina Utilities Commission is being asked to stop an energy project near Kituwah, the ancestral Cherokee home.

Citizens to Protect Kituwah Valley and Swain County say Duke Energy needs to stop work on an electrical substation about a half-mile from Kituwah. The group wants the commission to hold hearings about the project.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians opposes work at the site. Commissioners in Swain County have imposed a 90-day moratorium on development.

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:
Group petitions to halt project at sacred tribal site (The Charlotte Observer 4/1)

Related Stories:
County delays development near Cherokee sacred site (03/16)
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)