1847: Choctaw Sends Ireland $ to help w/ Famine. 2020: Ireland Repays Them to Help with Covid-19

You probably learned in school about the potato famine that hit Ireland in the 1840s. Millions of Irish died and millions of others left their home country.

Maybe you didn't know that The Choctaw Nation --- which had also just suffered greatly along the Trail of Tears as they were forced to relocate to Oklahoma --- had also heard news of the famine.

In 1847, the Native Americans helped by donating $170 of aid to the Irish. (that’s the equivalent of $5,000 in today’s currency) They donated money for people thousands of miles away they had never met and never would. Regardless, they were willing to help.

Maybe you never learned of this donation from over 170 years ago, or maybe you have forgotten over the years. But the Irish didn't forget. Donations to Native American tribes who have been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic are now pouring in from Ireland as they repay their debt.

According to their Go Fund Me Page:

The Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation are extreme food deserts with only 13 grocery stores on Navajo to serve some 180,000 people and only 3 small grocery marts on Hopi to serve some 3,000 people.

 

As of May 5th, more than $1.8 million has been raised with donations flooding in from Ireland.