What is a fish weir?
Fish weirs are long, low rock walls built in the riverbed, extending from opposite shores and shaped like a giant funnel pointing downstream. They are the visible remnants of an ancient form of community fishing practiced by the Cherokee hundreds and possibly thousands of years ago. Amazingly, the ancient weirs held up over the centuries and still exist across Western North Carolina’s wide, gently-flowing valley rivers. How did they work? To work a fish weir, a long line of women and children would form a chain across the river and scare the fish downstream. The fish would be forced into the ever-narrowing funnel and eventually into a trap waiting at the mouth of the weir. Basket frames were likely constructed out of river cane and loosely woven with branches and cane strips to fill in gaps. Historical accounts, oral tradition and trial-and-error efforts of re-enactors have pieced together a picture of how the weirs were likely operated. The women would sometimes tie branches to long r
