How an 1847 Choctaw donation to Ireland now funds students through UCC scholarship

Historic act of generosity during the Great Famine continues to shape cultural ties and educational opportunities nearly two centuries later

Cordell Palmer, a member of the Choctaw Nation, is availing of a UCC scholarship in memory of a donation that was made to the Irish people on behalf of the Choctaw Nation back in the 1800s. Cordell thinks ‘it’s just incredible that this relationship began almost 200 years ago’. Pictures: Jim Coughlan

It might have formed the basis of one of history’s most unlikely friendships, beginning with a Native American tribe’s selfless act to help Irish famine victims.

More than a century later, Cordell Palmer, a member of the Choctaw Nation, is among those benefitting from his community’s extraordinary legacy.

The 23-year-old is studying for a master’s degree in international public policy and diplomacy at University College Cork (UCC) thanks to the Choctaw-Ireland scholarship.

The initiative was introduced to acknowledge the generosity and humanitarianism displayed by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, who gifted funds to the Irish during the Famine.

A monument in Bailick Park, Midleton, known as the Kindred Spirits sculpture, serves as a reminder to this day of an unforgettable gesture.

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The stainless steel feathers honour an extraordinary act of solidarity in March 1847, when the Choctaw Nation gathered roughly $170 to help feed Ireland’s starving poor.

Trail of Tears

Their donation was later distributed by the Quakers to purchase food and essential supplies for the Midleton area. It came despite the trauma of the Trail of Tears, when the tribe was forced to relocate.

The brutal displacement uprooted more than 60,000 Native Americans, including the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole peoples.

Thousands died from starvation and harsh weather conditions amid the mass upheaval between 1830 and 1850.

Cordell says he is grateful for the sacrifices made by his ancestors.

“The Choctaw-Ireland scholarship has given me the opportunity to study in Ireland, which I’m really grateful to have,” he says.

Cordell developed an interest in the Choctaw tribe’s history during his teenage years.

Cordell Palmer: 'The summer before I began high school, I actually moved to Durant, Oklahoma, where the Choctaw Nation’s tribal headquarters are located.'

“I was born in Oklahoma City, but I spent most of my childhood in central Arkansas. We had moved there because of my father’s job, and I lived there until my eighth grade year.

“Right before high school, my dad got a job with the Choctaw Foundation involving data science and numbers.

“The summer before I began high school, I actually moved to Durant, Oklahoma, where the Choctaw Nation’s tribal headquarters are located.”

The relocation came as an awakening for Cordell.

“Even though I am Choctaw, I didn’t have the greatest sense of what that meant. I had been experiencing something different, but that all changed when I moved to tribal land,” he adds.

“I did four years of high school there, and I also attended university. Moving to Durant was monumental for me because it’s where I discovered what it means to be Choctaw. Once you’re actually living on tribal land, you start to understand what it means to be Choctaw.

Moving back at 14 to where my parents were originally from and where they grew up on tribal land was one of the biggest game-changers for me

“Where we live, the land is split up. The treaties that were signed back in the 1800s still stand.

“Once you get on to the reservation land, you realise what can be achieved within this boundary. There are things that are done in these communities that would never be seen anywhere outside of this location. They have so many social welfare programmes. There are social welfare programmes and food distribution programmes. There are leases to own programmes and even help for people to plant gardens.

“I miss it because you don’t have that community aspect that makes you realise what it is to be a native. You just don’t experience that in other places.”

'My own heritage'

Cordell recalls how his grandfather inspired him to learn more about the Choctaw culture.

“It was my mum’s dad who first made me aware of my own heritage. He had lived and worked for the Choctaw Nation pretty much his whole life. He had been one of the first people to begin the process back when the tribe regained sovereignty in the ‘70s,” he adds.

“During that time, he worked hand in hand with the guy who is chief now. It was through this side of the family that I learned more about my culture and heritage.

“He died a few years ago, but it was him who passed on that love for my culture and my people.”

The Kindred Spirits sculpture commemorates the 1847 donation by the Native American Choctaw Nation to Irish famine relief during the Great Hunger. It is inBailick Park, Midleton, Cork. File Picture David Creedon / Anzenberger

Cordell praises the attitudes of Irish people towards his tribe.

“People here are very open and understanding about what it means to be native. They learn in public school about the potato famine and the money set over by the Choctaw people. They have an awareness about the relationship that was built,” he says.

“I’m lucky in that I haven’t really experienced any lack of understanding or ignorance.

“They know about the monument in Midleton.”

The connection between Ireland and the Choctaw Nation never ceases to fascinate Cordell.

“It’s just incredible to think that this relationship began almost 200 years ago. Now, all these years later, we get to carry it on. This was a relationship born out of kindness and generosity that, all this time later, we still get to celebrate.”