Star Man Legend
of Pilot Mountain
This mythological story about the Star Man Legend of Pilot Mountain was heard ten years ago on the Ledge Spring Trail at Pilot Mountain. It was told by someone who was met briefly on the mountain but I could never footnote the story and still can’t. I never knew the origin of the story and it was at the time I was not too familiar with the oral history of North Carolina from a tribal perspective. The question in my mind was this someone telling stories that are fiction or a genuine story teller? There is a big difference. The man spoke with the authority of a storyteller for half an hour. It got into a deep conversation rather quickly that I remember vividly to this day. It might be that particular talk is what perked an interest in the Mound Culture before contact, the spiritual oral history stories and the alignments of the sun, moon and planets in relation to the Big Pinnacle of Pilot Mountain.
It seems to be a story common to all the tribes about a man involved in a war in space who lost many dear friends in the conflict. Upon withdrawing from the light against dark war in space the Star Man decided to come to earth to live in peace for the rest of his days and teach. I often say in my talks on the book if you take your shoes and socks off almost anywhere on Pilot Mountain and place them on a quartzite slab there the mountain will come home with you.
This Star Man Legend is very specific to Pilot Mountain in Surry County, North Carolina. His Light Canoe landed on top of the Big Pinnacle of Pilot Mountain (see image above on the equinox). One must remember that Pilot Mountain is made out of 99% pure quartzite. The stored energy at Pilot Mountain within the quartzite that would be released when pressure is applied would be off the charts. Many experiencers say the visitors’ ships used in space have a consciousness (Ontology or All My Relations model of life). Quartz and piezoelectricity in modern physics go together like peanut butter and jelly. Was that part of the reason to land on the Big Pinnacle to recharge the ship?
Could the Star Man Legend be the origin story of the Great Guide associated with Pilot Mountain as a landmark? Was it really a person and not the mountain itself? The original communication about the great guide might have been in the universal sign language around a fire on or near Pilot Mountain but misinterpreted by Europeans traveling who were looking for landmarks. That is purely speculative, however.
The legend of the Star Man mythology from the oral history is associated with the Tuscarora, Lumbee, Catawba but especially the Saura (a.k.a. Cherwa) who lived closest to Pilot Mountain. Many of the Cherwa live around Charlotte, North Carolina but have blended into society after centuries of harassment. It could be that this is a story told around a campfire at night that links the earth and the sky for the young to learn a lesson about their place in the cosmos.
The Tuscarora people, who live quite a distance from Pilot Mountain, seem to have the most documented version of the mythology found so far, but it is still thin. The Tuscarora are not one of the eight documented tribes of North Carolina but they live in Robeson County. Since they are part of the Iroquois Confederacy the Tuscarora people have moved for generations.
The Star Man Legend make him out to be a wise teacher who will visit you in your dreams and provide visions. There is an aspect to his home being at Pilot Mountain that blends with the seasonal markers there since he told stories about the sun, moon and stars. The Tuscarora believed that the Star Man's presence made it a powerful spiritual site for ceremonies, vision quests, and other significant tribal gatherings according to ChatGPT.
Pilot Mountain was labeled Jomeokee in the early 1920s by a newspaper man in Charlotte. That journalists’ source of the term were not revealed nor was the tribal language it is from. That term, which is said to mean "Great Guide" or "Pilot," lends itself to mean it is a physical landmark as told by the newspaper man. In scientific terms it is a monadnock, which is a mountain that is not surrounded by other mountains, standing alone. While at first this was thought to be a unique mountain in the world it turns out there a many and one in New Hampshire is called, Mount Monanock.
The physical shape of Pilot Mountain resembles a sentinel or a guiding figure as was mentioned by the University of North Carolina professors in 1823. What is unique about Pilot Mountain is that it is a 1,500 foot quartzite pyramid. When Randall Carlson was asked if he knew of another crystalline pyramid in the world he was stumped at the Cosmic Summit 2024. The Star Man Legend adds a fascinating aspect to the term, Great Guide.
Clearly, there is a connection of the cosmos we can see in the very structure of Pilot Mountain with the equinox sunrise on the Big Pinnacle notch, the sun dagger at noon and the pyramid shadow in the evening. That pyramid shadow at sunset is seen every night of the year and swings from the summer solstice to the winter solstice from earth’s perspective like a seasonal sundial. This connection of powerful signs on earth with the cosmos at the equinox time of year would have been ample reason to hold ceremony on the mountain around the Green Corn Ceremony.
It is important to realize the Little and Big Pinnacle are oriented to an east-west axis.
The Star Man Legend personalizes the broader stories of the immortals in the Blue Ridge Mountains especially found in the work of James Mooney in his, “Myths of the Cherokee.” In parallel to the Star Man Legend are the amazing personal accounts of interactions with the Little People even in modern times. It is well documented that the bones of the Little People were found in a construction site in Western North Carolina.
Clearly, more research needs to be done on the Star Man Legend at Pilot Mountain. The story told a decade ago near the start of the Ledge Spring Trail below the Little Pinnacle went like this from memory:
1. A star being escaped a war in the heavens and came to earth.
2. He landed his ship on the top of the Big Pinnacle of Pilot Mountain which created a bright light seen for miles.
3. At the time the storyteller on the trail made reference to the mound culture and that mountains were the original mounds. Those mountains that the mounds reflect in their construction have strong spiritual significance. This is often sited by Native Americans as true, but academia doesn’t seem to make that connection.
4. Then the storyteller mentioned how the Big Pinnacle had strong astronomical significance because it is 1,500 feet above the Yadkin Valley below and from that location you can 360 degrees. Even today the Forsyth Astronomical Society uses the top parking lot for dark sky observations with telescopes. Sadly, two of the recent planned dates in late 2024 had to be canceled due to partly cloudy conditions and a chance of rain.
5. A name was given for the Star Being during this conversation on the trail but documentation of it seems to be only in the oral tradition of the North Carolina tribes. It is a common name that is easy to remember.
It is a shame that the truly horrific Indian Boarding Schools of North Carolina tried to stamp out these widely held stories by all the tribes from the ocean to the mountains. These oral history stories have much to teach about man’s place in the heavens and right action in life for yourself and others.
There is an unbroken chain for many of the tribes of North Carolina in their oral history stories that might have been broken elsewhere in the United States by the Indian Boarding Schools. Yona FrenchHawk speaks of hearing the oral tradition stories in sweet lodges when he was young child in the original Cherokee language directly from the elders. Many of those elders did not have running water or electricity in their homes who still lived in the mountains.
Initially ChatGPT was used to find out information on the Star Man Legend of Pilot Mountain. Seven individuals from different computers with different algorithms asked the following question:
Can you tell me about the Tuscarora tribe legend about the Star Man at Pilot Mountain?
The results were similar but the details often were very different. Sources ChatGPT cited so far have not revealed any clues about the myth. Some of the seven used other AI search engines like Bing but with the same question.
Couple of first time North Carolina authors at a Chris Bledsoe book signing in Wilmington, North Carolina. The image was taken by his wife Yvonne Bledsoe in April of 2024. The entire Bledsoe family has a standing offer for a private guided tour of Pilot Mountain. There is a movie being made of the Chris Bledsoe book and a documentary was filmed for the Pilot Mountain book in April of 2024 which is being edited now.
Oasis Coffee Shop of Carrboro gathering with Chris Bledsoe at a well attended talk and skywatch in Sanford, North Carolina in October of 2024.
ChatGPT sources:
"The Journal of Cherokee Studies" or publications from the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.
Books on Native American mythology and folklore, such as "The Southeastern Indians" by Charles Hudson.
Oral histories collected by local historical societies, like the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History.
Local sources and writings that may have collected Tuscarora or regional stories, like accounts in North Carolina history archives or collections of Appalachian folklore.
Pilot Mountain - North Carolina History. https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/pilot-mountain/.
Flying Heads, Stone Giants and Legends: a historical account from Chief .... https://tworowtimes.com/arts-and-culture/flying-heads-stone-giants-and-legends-a-historical-account-from-chief-elias-johnson/.
James Mooney’s Work: Mooney was an anthropologist known for his research on Native American cultures in the Southeastern United States, including the Cheraw. His work, such as "History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees," gives insights into Southeastern tribal legends, although not specific to the Star Man, it provides context for understanding their spiritual world.
Archaeological Research: Studies of sites near Pilot Mountain and other regions inhabited by the Saura indicate that the tribe had ceremonial sites and burial mounds, suggesting the area's spiritual significance.
Local and Oral Histories: Local historians and tribal elders might hold additional knowledge passed down through oral traditions about the Star Man and Pilot Mountain, though such sources may not be readily found in published materials.
"The Catawba Indians" by James H. Merrell - This book is a detailed history of the Catawba people, their culture, and their relationship with other Southeastern tribes. It provides context on the spiritual beliefs of the Catawba, though specific stories like the Star Man are not covered.
Ethnographic and Historical Accounts - Information on the Catawba’s religious and spiritual beliefs can be found in historical studies and oral histories preserved by the Catawba Nation and local museums in South Carolina.
"The Southeastern Indians" by Charles Hudson - This text offers a broader overview of Southeastern Native American cultures, including the Catawba, and discusses the shared cultural traits among tribes, such as the role of stars and sacred geography in their beliefs.
For deeper research, visiting local historical societies, like the North Carolina Museum of History or the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, or reaching out to the descendants of the Saura people, who are now mostly associated with the Eastern Band of Cherokee and other Southeastern tribes, may yield more specific stories or interpretations related to the Star Man.
