Cherokee Indians to help keep US mountain highway open during federal shutdown
The Cherokee Indians will help keep a key U.S. highway open and maintained in Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the federal government shutdown.
At a special session Friday, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians tribal council unanimously approved an emergency resolution to lend money and workers, as needed, to maintain U.S. 441/Newfound Gap Road from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to Cherokee in Western North Carolina.
The highway remains open during the shutdown. Drivers stop along the route in Cherokee to watch elk graze and let the animals amble across the road.
Principal Chief Michell Hicks introduced the resolution.
“This is definitely relevant and necessary,” Hicks told the council. He said he’d spoken with officials in Sevier County, Tennessee, where the popular tourist and trucking route also runs.
“I know we’ve all worked hard to try to address the aspects of 441 and keeping it open,” Hicks said. “We had a report this morning on the impact this has on our facilities. It drives the economics here in our area, so anything we can do to make sure that this road is maintained and remains open I think is critical to all of us.”
The tribe also agreed to seek reimbursement from the U.S. government for any money it spends on the effort, as recommended by Hicks and Mike McConnell, attorney general of the tribe.
Volunteers, governments join U.S. 441 effort
Also Friday, Friends of the Smokies said the nonprofit will join the Cherokee and local, county and state governments to help fund the full reopening of the park for a week – Saturday, Oct. 4, through Friday, Oct. 10.
Governments are the state of Tennessee, the Tennessee counties of Sevier and Blount and the cities of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville.
Tennessee will contribute $80,000 and everyone else $45,000 apiece to open the park with rangers and other staff.
“It is disappointing that the federal government has once again failed to prevent a shutdown that puts our national parks and communities at risk,” Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters said in a statement Friday.
“Thankfully, our state and local partners have stepped up once again to ensure the Great Smoky Mountains National Park remains open,” Waters said. “The park is a vital part of our regional economy, and closing it during peak fall season is simply not an option.”
Great Smoky Mountains remains the most visited national park, with the nearly 12.2 million visitors spending at least $2 billion in nearby communities, a recent National Park Service report showed.
Park closures have been in effect since the Oct. 1 start of the shutdown, including Cades Cove Loop Road, the Sugarlands and Cades Cove visitor centers and Chimneys and Cades Cove picnic areas. The areas also reopened Saturday for a week.
U.S. 441 also provides access to Kuwohi, the sacred Cherokee site, the tribe said in Friday’s resolution. The former Clingmans Dome is the highest peak in the park and Tennessee and third-highest peak east of the Mississippi River.
This story was originally published October 6, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Cherokee Indians to help keep US mountain highway open during federal shutdown."