Willow Coyote brings her native wisdom to Cork

Willow Coyote was not her original name.

Raised in a rural Oregon neighbourhood, she led a conventional middleclass American life, until she met Cherokee native American Indian, Tony Talbert, and embarked on a journey that would take her so deep into native American culture that she would legally change her name to better reflect herself and her new-found culture.

Years later, a chance online meeting drew her to Ireland for love. She is now happily settled in Co Cork, and sharing her adopted Cherokee culture with Corkonians. “I was on the internet, looking for an Irish penpal. My mother had Irish roots, so I wanted to bring my grand-daughter here to give her a sense of her ancestry.”