The Great Famine of 1847 in Ireland was worldwide news. Many nations came to the aid of the starving country. Among them was the Choctaw Nation. They heard about the dire situation facing the Irish and could not stand by without helping. This tribe of Native Americans pooled $170 for Irish relief.
This modest gift would be worth around $5,000 in today’s dollars and it directly impacted the survival of many in Ireland. The kindness and generosity of the Choctaws has never been forgotten in Ireland. Since then, the relationship between the two nations has only deepened.
At the time they made their gift, the Choctaws had already suffered their own catastrophe — 60,000 of them had been forcibly removed from their ancestral lands in the Deep South. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 sent them on a death march that came to be called “The Trail of Tears.”
First their homes were burned down. Then they were chained together and forced to walk with just the clothes on their backs. They died of exposure, disease and starvation. One-third of the tribe members perished during the long journey to reservations in Arkansas.
The Choctaw were still reeling from this devastation when they answered Ireland’s cry for help. That simple act of kindness has cemented the bond between Ireland and the Choctaw Nation, which continues to this day.
In 2020, the Irish honored that sacred bond by raising money for the Native American tribes that were hit hardest by the pandemic. They raised $7,865,930 to help supply clean water, food and health supplies to people in the Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation.
In March 2018, the Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, visited the Choctaw Nation. He announced a new scholarship program for tribe members to study in Ireland. To date, over $2.5 million in scholarships have been awarded to 500 Choctaw students. Their tuition and expenses are paid for by the Republic of Ireland.
The scholarship program was initiated to provide a big “Yakoke” (thank you) to the Choctaws for their generosity and humanitarianism during the Great Famine. One recipient is of mixed Choctaw-Irish heritage. One of her great-grandmothers had married an Irish settler.
Studying in Ireland has helped open her eyes. “I knew what being Choctaw meant to me, but I didn’t know a lot about what it meant to be Irish.” Studying at University College Cork has helped her bridge the gap between these two identities.
The Irish and Native Americans have long felt a kinship. They both came from tribal societies that valued communal living, storytelling and music-making.
Our area, though, also experienced the forced removal of Native Americans. In 1833, the Treaty of Chicago removed Native Americans to a reservation in Kansas. Many of the local Irish settlers followed them.
The history of Native Americans is filled with many sad memories. But when I heard the story of the generosity of the Choctaw Nation, I was reminded of the “Parable of the Widow Who Gave All She Had.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you; this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything, all she had to live on.”
The Irish response to the Choctaw gift once again shows that Ireland is the most generous country in the world. In 2020, Ireland ranked first in making the most donations per capita, ahead of the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.
Yet another reason to celebrate being Irish at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade this Saturday!
