Friendship fest celebrates Choctaw-Irish “Kindred Spirits”

(CHOCTAW NATION) For nearly two centuries, the people of Choctaw Nation and Ireland have celebrated a “Kindred Spirits” bond, woven together by the threads of compassion and the fight to survive colonialism. That bond will be celebrated at the Choctaw Cultural Center’s first Choctaw-Irish Friendship Fest on Saturday, March 16.

The bond was originally formed in 1847, during the Great Famine in Ireland. Also known as the Great Hunger, it was a period of starvation and disease, killing nearly 1 million Irish over the course of seven years. The circumstances surrounding the famine, caused by potato blight, were made worse by Ireland’s colonial ruler Great Britain, who did little to help them and instead allowed much of the country’s crops to be exported while people in the countryside starved.

It was during these times, so soon after the Choctaw Nation had experienced their own devastation following forced relocation from their ancestral homelands by the federal government, that the Choctaw Nation raised $170 (more than $5,000 today) to help save the Irish people.

A “Kindred Spirits” monument was unveiled in Cork County, Ireland, in 2017, built to honor Choctaw Nation’s compassion and generosity. 

A similar monument is currently in the works on the Choctaw Nation Reservation. 

Saturday’s event, slated to take place from 10 am to 4 pm, will showcase this honored connection with elements of both Choctaw and Irish culture. 

An art market will be open throughout the day, as well as tables of information from the Sherman Celtic Festival & Highland Games, North Texas Irish Festival, and the Irish American Club of Tulsa. 

Organizers say the event will have plenty of activities for children, including a “Kindred Spirit”-inspired sculpture workshop and children’s book author, Leslie Stahl Widener, reading excerpts from her latest book, Kindred Spirits: Shilombish Ittibachvffa. 

There will also be a video about “Kindred Spirits” in the Kowi Chito Theatre. 

Choctaw social dancing and an Irish dancing demonstration, offered by The McCafferty Academy of Irish Dance, will conclude the day’s festivities. 

Admission is complimentary for Choctaw tribal and Cultural Center members. General admission is $12 per person. 

More information about the event schedule can be found on the Choctaw Cultural Center website.