The sculpture Wi created by Todd Martin was prepared for the unveiling ceremony on Sept. 21. Photo by WCJ.
Western Carolina University will unveil a sculpture of the Cherokee symbol Wi, meaning place, at 1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21 in the Killian Courtyard.
The sculpture was created by Todd Martin, a fine arts student, and is part of last year’s academic theme “Cherokee: Community. Culture. Connection.”
Cullowhee was once known as Judaculla Place, referring to an old tale about a slanted-eyed giant named Judaculla that lived in the area. Wi denotes a geographical location, hence the ‘whee’ in Cullowhee. Over time, the name was shortened into Culla-Wi. Thus, the name Cullowhee was born. The sculpture focuses on the roots of our small town and our ties to the Cherokee community.
The location of the sculpture, Killian Courtyard, is where a mound was; this mound represented a central meeting ground in what once was the center of a Cherokee village.
Growing up in Cullowhee, Martin never learned the meaning of the name until he began working on this project.
“To be able to create a piece to leave in Cullowhee about the origins of the name help me feel like I am giving back to the place I grew up in,” Martin said.
This is the first sculpture permanently installed on campus that has been created by a student. Martin admits it was a challenging project.
“I fundraised, designed, fabricated and installed the sculpture with support from quite a few different places, but the learning experience was quite intense,” Martin said.
Come and see the Wi and become part of Cullo-whee!
