Moon-eyed people

Yunwi-Tsunsdi are a race of small humanoid nature spirits, sometimes referred to in English as "dwarves" or "fairies." According to Cherokee Native American legend, long ago, before the Cherokee moved into the Smokies, there was a race of small, albino beings who lived in the mountains. According to author Julia Montgomery Street, whose tale of this mysterious race is displayed in the Cherokee County Historical Museum, the men “possessed all the land from the Little Tennessee River to Kentucky, with a line of fortification from one end of their domain to the other.”

The legend talks about them having big, round eyes, hence the name the "Moon Eyed People". Many mounds and rock structures were believed to have been made by the beings.