Video: How the Irish repaid the Choctaw Indians 200 years later
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Ireland has not forgotten how one of the Native American tribes helped them in difficult times. This happened during the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s, which was a disaster for the people of Ireland. About a million people died, about one and a half million left the country - such were the horrific consequences of this tragedy. Upon learning of the famine on the Emerald Isle, the impoverished Choctaw tribe, who had followed the road of tears just a few years ago, raised money to help the Irish. For them it was a huge amount, but the main thing was not that, but the fact that they were practically the only ones who extended a helping hand to Ireland at this dramatic moment.
Choctaw is a tribe of indigenous people of North America that inhabited the Mississippi River Valley. Contrary to popular belief about the Indians as bloodthirsty savages, it was a developed and civilized society. In addition, they very quickly adopted all the cultural and technical achievements of the Europeans. During the struggle for US independence, Choctaw actively supported the government.
Only now, in gratitude, they received a road of tears and forced eviction from their ancestral lands. Only a small part of the tribe remained to live in Mississippi and received citizenship. The days of racism are over, and today this tribe is doing very well. They own large businesses in the gambling, hospitality and e-business. They were also able to preserve their culture, traditions and language.
However, it so happened that they were very much affected by the current global situation. The global coronavirus pandemic has created not only enormous economic hardship for these people, but also affected all aspects of their lives. Many were left without water and electricity, and people lack access to health care. There are a large number of people at risk.
And then suddenly help began to arrive, as they say, from where they did not expect. The people of Ireland were worried that the indigenous population of the United States could not get access to basic life-saving things. There are no federal funding programs. One Navajo official opened an account to help raise funds for those in need.
Imagine the general surprise when, in the shortest possible time, more than 3.4 million dollars were transferred to the account, most of which were donated by the citizens of Ireland. This was unexpected, especially in light of the fact that the Irish, like everyone else, suffered and must solve many of their problems. And besides, what is the connection between the Indians and the Irish, they even live on different continents? As it turned out, there is a connection.
Back in 1845, there was a potato crop failure in Ireland. It may not seem so scary if you don't know the background. The fact is that almost all Irish land belonged to the English lords. They charged a lot of money for her rent. As the simplest and most hardy crop, cheap potatoes were the staple food of the Irish peasants. Against the background of the late blight epidemic, which destroyed the potato crop and the general political situation, a terrible famine broke out. Many peasants simply had nothing to pay for rent and they were deprived of their houses and all property. Due to poverty and hunger, as well as from related diseases, people died in tens of thousands. Some tried to flee the Emerald Isle to save the lives of themselves and their families.
The British did not help in any way. As if nothing had happened, ships with grain and cattle were sent from Ireland to England. Foods in huge quantities were taken away from places where people not only desperately needed them, but where they were dying of hunger. Queen Victoria's favorite poet, Alfred Tennyson, wrote very revealingly about the Irish: “The Celts are all complete idiots. They live on a terrible island and have no history worth mentioning. Why can't anyone blow up this nasty island with dynamite and scatter its pieces in different directions?"
And at such a difficult moment in Irish history, very unexpected help also came to them. The Choctaw Indians learned of the dire famine situation and raised funds to help the Irish. For a beggar tribe, just sixteen years after going through a road of tears, the sum of $ 170 was enormous. They themselves fought for survival, but could not remain indifferent to the misfortune of others.
At that time, many Irish people immigrated to the United States in search of a better life. Therefore, news of the potato famine spread fairly quickly across the American continent. Despite the problems and difficulties of their own life, at a tribal meeting on March 23, 1847, the Choctaw people decided to collect as many as they could and send them to the starving in Ireland.
And so they did. Today this amount is equivalent to $ 5,300. For a tribe that was fighting for its own survival, this was a lot. They sent them to complete strangers who were in dire need. Many Americans saw this as a sign of the effectiveness of the spread of Christianity, rather than a sign of sympathy. One, it seems to me, does not exclude or diminish the other.
More than one hundred and seventy years have passed since that time, and many Irish people still remember this. They donate to Native Americans and say they do it because they remember. Remember who gave them a helping hand at a difficult moment in their history.
Ireland learned about the fundraising for an Indian tribe after Naomi O'Leary, a journalist for the Irish Times, tweeted about it. Her tweet received many likes and retweets. Fundraising organizers say most of the funds came from Irish citizens.
The money will go to provide food, water and other basic necessities for the families of Indians affected by COVID-19.
Read more about the history of the indigenous peoples of the United States in our article. Native Americans: The Beauty of the People of a Bygone Era.
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