After 173 years, the people of Ireland are returning a favour to the Choctaw Nation who supported the Irish during the famine, the Navajo & Hopi Families have st up a GoFundMe campaign in an effort to help their sick and elderly during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Director of Communications for the group Cassandra Begay said
“Although we are experiencing per-capita the same rates of positive cases as New York city of Covid-19, we are not receiving the adequate resources to protect out community.
Several of our recent donations for our GoFundMe campaign have been inspired by the Great Hunger Famine in Ireland which started in 1845.
During this difficult time, in 1847, the Choctaw Nation provided $170 of relief aid to the Irish to help them (today that is the equivalent of $5,000). Not long before the Great Hunger Famine in Ireland, 60,000 Native Americans, including the Choctaw people, had suffered through the experience of the Trail of Tears. The death of many people on the Trail of Tears sparked empathy for the Irish people in their time of need. Thus, the Choctaw extended $170 of relief aid.
173 years later to today, the favor is returned through generous donations from the Irish people to the Navajo Nation during our time of crisis. A message from Irish donor, Pat Hayes, sent from Ireland across the ocean: “From Ireland, 170 years later, the favour is returned! To our Native American brothers and sisters in your moment of hardship.”
The heartache is real. We have lost so many of our sacred Navajo elders and youth to COVID-19. It is truly devastating. And a dark time in history for our Nation. In moments like these, we are so grateful for the love and support we have received from all around the world. Acts of kindness from indigenous ancestors passed being reciprocated nearly 200 years later through blood memory and interconnectedness. Thank you to the Choctaw Nation ❤️❤️❤️ Thank you, IRELAND, for showing solidarity and being here for us.”
In 2015 a sculpture ‘Kindred Spirits’ was erected in Midleton, Co.Cork to show how grateful the Irish were for the generosity of the Choctaw people.
If you wish to donate visit Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund
