Great Tellico

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Great Tellico was a Cherokee town at the site of present-day Tellico Plains, Tennessee, where the Tellico River emerges from the Appalachian Mountains. Great Tellico was one of the largest Cherokee towns in the region. Its name in Cherokee is more properly written Talikwa. It is sometimes spelled Telliquo, or, in Oklahama, Tahlequah. There were several Cherokee settlements named Tellico, the largest of which is distinguished from the others by calling it "Great". The meaning of the word "Talikwa" is thought to be lost by the Cherokees. Actually, it is derived from the original Muskogee (Creek) town on the site known as Talako, which was visited by the Spanish explorers in the mid-1500s. Talako means "bean" in Muskogee. (See Gallery Image below)

The Warrior Path passed through Great Tellico, linking it to Chota (Cherokee town) in the north and Great Hiwassee in the south, via Conasauga Creek. In addition, the Trading Path, later called the Unicoi Turnpike, ran from Great Tellico southeast over the Unicoi Range of the Appalachian Mountains, linking the "Overhill Cherokee" to those living east of the mountains. The Trading Path, also known as the Tellico Road, became the main route of trade between the British and the Cherokee during the 18th century (Duncan 2003:245).

In the 18th century, Great Tellico was an important town of the Overhill Cherokee. Several prominent Cherokee leaders came from the town, such as Moytoy II.

[edit] References

• Mooney, James Myths of the Cherokee (1900, repr. 1995)
• Duncan, Barbara R. and Riggs, Brett H. Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook. University of North Carolina Press: Chapel Hill (2003). ISBN 0-8078-5457-3

• Thornton, Richard, "Ancient Roots I: The Indigenous People of the Southern Highlands." Lula Publishing:Morris, NC (2007) ISBN 978-1-4303-1828-6