Native American and Irish interactions

Seal of the Choctaw Nation

Cooperation between the Irish and Native American Nations dates to at least the mid-19th century, a time of trauma in both regions. The Trail of Tears, the forced mass relocation of Native American tribes from the American Southeast to the Indian Territory (later known as Oklahoma), took place between 1830 and 1850. Thousands died of disease or starvation during the journey. The first nation to be relocated was the Choctaw tribe of modern day states Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana into southern Oklahoma.[5]

The Irish Potato Famine was the mass starvation and spread of disease from 1845 to 1849. One million Irish died and more than a million left the country, causing Ireland's population to drop by more than 20%. It is said that during the Trail of Tears, members of the Choctaw Nation heard about the Potato Famine from an Irish soldier.[6] Only shortly after their relocation, Choctaw collected money to send to Ireland. The Choctaw of Skullyville donated $170 and the Choctaw of Doaksville donated $150.[7] Both donations are valued at roughly $5000 today.[8] The Cherokee Nation also donated $200.[7] Other groups donated to the Irish, including former slaves in the Caribbean, prisoners in Sing Sing, as well as convicts on a prison ship in London.[5] Padraig Kirwan is a senior lecturer at Goldsmiths University, and the co-author of Famine Pots: The Choctaw Irish Gift Exchange 1874-Present with LeAnne Howe from the Choctaw Nation. She says “There is a symbiosis of what it means to be a colonized people and to have lived through cultural trauma.”[6] After being sent to Midleton in County Cork, [8] funds were used to purchase food, blankets, and feed for livestock, [6] which were distributed by the Quaker community.[5]

According to historian Diarmaid Ferriter, the donations “showed how far the famine resonated that it reached people 4,000 miles away who had themselves recently suffered terrible deprivation and clearance from their land. There is a belief that the famine has never been forgotten here, and it has made Irish people more likely to make common cause with other marginalized people.” [5] Conor Donnan, an Irish historian, says that “The Choctaw donating to Irish was not just philanthropic, but it was also a critique of imperialism in the United States, ... these were nations that were victims of the Anglo-Protestant imperial project.” [7]

In Rotha Mór an tSaoil (published in English as "The Hard Road to Klondike"), his posthumously published Irish language memoir of living in the American Wild West and of the Klondike Gold Rush, Micí Mac Gabhann wrote often of how often he and fellow Irish-Americans spoke to each other about there being clear parallels between how the United States Federal Government was treating the Native population and how the British Empire was treating the Irish.[9]

In 1919, during the Irish war for independence, Irish president Eamon de Valera went to the US to raise support. He met with the Lac Court Oreille Band of the Ojibwe in Wisconsin. There, in front of the 3,000-member tribe, he was made an honorary chief of the Ojibwe.[10] Joe Kingfisher, the Tribal Chief, described his wishes to give de Valera, “‘the prettiest blossom of the fairest flower on earth, for you come to us as a representative of one oppressed nation to another,’”. The Irish and Ojibwe traded gifts, the Irish receiving a headdress, and the Ojibwe receiving multiple .38 caliber guns, which they still have today.[7]

Kindred Spirits in Cork

• In 1990: Choctaw leaders visited County Mayo in Ireland, and participate in the first “Famine Walk.” This is a reenactment of the walk in 1848 made by starving Irish to their landlords. [8]
• In 1992: 22 Irish leaders visited the Choctaw Nation to participate in the annual Trail of Tears memorial walk.[8]
• In 1992: Mansion House, the residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin since 1715, installed a plaque in honor of the Choctaw aid. [8]
• In 1995: The Irish President, Mary Robinson, visited the Choctaw Nation to thank them for their donation.[8]
• In 2017: Kindred Spirits is a sculpture in Bailick Park, Midleton, County Cork, Ireland, which was unveiled in 2017 to acknowledge and thank the Choctaw Nation for their donation. The sculpture features nine 20-foot stainless steel eagle feathers.[7]
• In 2018: The Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, visited the Choctaw nation.[7]
  • There, he announced that members of the Choctaw tribe have the opportunity to earn scholarships and get free tuition at Irish universities.[7]
  • Ireland's Consul General visited again the next year. [8]

• In 2019: Studies begin for the first recipient of the Choctaw-Ireland Scholarship Program.[8]
  • Recipients get full tuition at University College Cork as well as 10,000 euros for living expenses. [8]