International Relations , United States Kindred spirits: Irish-Native American solidarity

A fundraiser for two Native American tribes hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic has received tens of thousands of dollars from donors in Ireland, which many say is payback for tribal support during the Great Famine.

Hundreds of comments on the GoFundMe page raising money to help the Navajo and Hopi nations cite a donation by the Choctaw tribe to Ireland in 1847 as the inspiration for their donation, which has collected over $4 million so far.

“The Choctaw Nation sent the Irish monetary aid during the Irish Potato Famine. During this dark period in Irish history over 1 million Irish died while they were abandoned by their British rulers. But the Irish never forget, and we are repaying the generosity of the Choctaw Nation now in 2020, not forgetting that they, too, were suffering greatly under British rule during this period also,” reads one comment from late May.

“Thank you for the help that Native American people showed to Irish people at our time of struggle. It is fitting that their descendants can return that wonderful act of good will and kindness,” reads another.

The Irish/Native American connection might seem like an unlikely alliance to the casual observer, but not to history doctoral candidate Conor Donnan. He has spent his academic career looking at the Irish diaspora in the United States ,and in the process uncovered stories highlighting the transatlantic solidarity between Ireland and Native nations dating back to the 1800s.

“The Choctaw donating to Irish was not just philanthropic, but it was also a critique of imperialism in the United States,” he says. “These were nations that were victims of the Anglo-Protestant imperial project.”

Read more in Penn Today >>