The Trail of Tears is the name given to the forced relocation of Native Americans following the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The relocation was mostly from the southeastern United States to present day Oklahoma. The removal included the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations.
This forced movement not only dispossessed many Native American nations, it also resulted in thousands of deaths from exposure, disease and starvation. The name, Trail of Tears, originates from a description of the removal of the Choctaw Nation in 1838 and 1839.
Seven years later, in 1847, the Choctaw survivors of the Trail of Tears heard of the Great Famine in Ireland. They heard about the dispossession and starvation that had been going on in Ireland since 1845. Though clearly not wealthy or advantaged themselves, they responded by collecting $710 and sending it to help starving Irish men, women and children.
According to a written account at the time, “Traders, missionaries, and (Indian) agency officials contributed, but the greater part of the money was supplied by the Indians themselves.“(1)
The Choctaw sent the money to Memphis – one of the cities in which the military had gathered them before they set out on the Trail of Tears. From there it made its way to Irish famine victims.
The astounding actions of the Choctaw are an example of how suffering acquires meaning when it is transmuted into understanding and generosity.
___________________________________________
Photograph – Famine Memorial, Dublin, Ireland.
(1) https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/michael/www/choctaw/retrace.html
Related articles
- http://joannacastlemiller.com/2011/11/08/choctaw-irish-famine-connection
- How the Choctaws Saved the Irish (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)
- University of Arkansas Dedicates Trail of Tears Park (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)
- Choctaw and Chickasaw Tribes Fight for Water Rights (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)
- Looking To The Past: The Africans, The Indians, and What People Seeking Freedom Can Envision (historyisastateofmind.wordpress.com)
- If you want to know more about Native Americans … (mitbc.org)
- Trail of Tears (dickiebo.wordpress.com)
I think sometimes may be an understatement.
Or – unfortunately – an overstatement as this sort of generous, open-hearted behaviour is not all that common.
I think it was particularly generous of the Choctaw as Andrew Jackson – President for much of that time and a leading proponent of ‘Indian removal’ – was the son of Irish parents.
If the Choctaw had operated in a way we’d often still excuse they’d have been glad that the nation that produced Andrew Jackson was suffering. Instead they empathised because they themselves had known so much similar suffering.
Exemplary really. Thanks for the comment.
Or – unfortunately – an overstatement as this sort of generous, open-hearted behaviour is not all that common.
I think it was particularly generous of the Choctaw as Andrew Jackson – President for much of that time and a leading proponent of ‘Indian removal’ – was the son of Irish parents.
If the Choctaw had operated in a way we’d often still excuse they’d have been glad that the nation that produced Andrew Jackson was suffering. Instead they empathised because they themselves had known so much similar suffering.
Exemplary really. Thanks for the comment.
I’m happy when stories like this one get into the mainstream… so many years of the other kind of stories have been hurtful. This is a blessing. TY! 🙂
I’m happy when stories like this one get into the mainstream… so many years of the other kind of stories have been hurtful. This is a blessing. TY! 🙂