Irish people return Choctaw kindness more than 170 years later

Artwork Courtesy: Charlize Branch (SALT LAKE CITY, Utah) In 1847, the Choctaw Nation gathered up $170 and sent it to Ireland to aid them during the Great Famine, a devastating time of disease and starvation across the pond. Today, Ireland is paying back that favor in a big way. A GoFundMe page set up for Navajo and Hopi families to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is nearing $3 million in donations, much of which has been donated by Irish and Irish American people to repay that kindness more than 170 years ago. The Choctaw’s gift of $170 would be about $4500 today, paid less than two decades after the Choctaw Nation suffered their own tragedy during the Trail of Tears, when a quarter of their own population perished due to exhaustion, disease and starvation. The “Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund” was started on March 15. Organizers said the Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation are extreme food deserts, with only 13 grocery stores on Navajo to serve 180,000 people and only 3 small grocery marts on Hopi to serve some 3,000 people, and that many community members are high-risk for serious COVID-19 complications. Nearly $250,000 has already been used to help them. We’re told the money is being used to provide food and water to the communities, as well as other necessities like personal protection equipment (PPE) and diapers. Comments on the GoFundMe page such as “To repay the kind donation made to Ireland during the Famine,”, “Donating my pocket money to say thanks from the children of Ireland. Stay safe” and “The Irish people remember” make it clear the Irish have never forgotten the Choctaw’s act of kindness despite losing so much themselves. In fact, it is just the latest kindness passed between the Irish and Choctaw in recent years. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar visited the Choctaw Nation in Durant in March 2018, reciprocating a trip members of the Choctaw Nation made in 2017 for the official unveiling of "Kindred Spirits", a monument dedicated to the Choctaws in County Cork, Ireland. A study-abroad program was announced during the recent trip, for Native Americans to study at colleges in Ireland. With today’s donations during the hard times of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear the bond between the Native Americans and the Irish is one built to last. Click here for the “Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund”: https://www.gofundme.com/f/NHFC19Relief