A new exhibition on "Indigenous Aid to Ireland during the Great Hunger" has been launched by Ireland's Great Hunger Institute in the Arnold Bernhard Library at Quinnipiac University.
Curated by the Institute's director, Professor Christine Kinealy, and Dr. Jason King of the Irish Heritage Trust in Dublin, the exhibition pays tribute to the Indigenous Peoples of the United States and Canada who contributed to Irish Famine relief in 1847.
The exhibition explores the remarkable generosity of the Choctaws and Cherokees, who themselves had endured displacement only years earlier on the Trail of Tears when they were forcibly removed from their homelands in the southeastern United States to Indian Territory in what is now the state of Oklahoma. It also examines the contributions of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat First Nation in Canada West (now Ontario), whose donations came at a time of increasing settler encroachment and broken treaties with the British Crown.
The exhibition features newly discovered archival records that reveal the detailed decision-making processes of Indigenous chiefs deliberating in council as they extended aid to famine-stricken Ireland.
"This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to reflect on a profound moment of historical solidarity and generosity between Indigenous communities and the Irish people, ensuring that these acts of kindness continue to be honored and remembered," said Christine Kinealy at the launch.
"The generosity that Native Americans and the First Peoples of Canada showed towards famine-stricken Ireland when they were themselves in utter destitution really speaks volumes about that relationship," added Gareth Hargadon, the Deputy Consul General of Ireland in New York.
The exhibition includes original government reports outlining treaty agreements from the 1830s, historic maps of the Trail of Tears, and a sculpture honoring the Choctaw gift.
Daniel Leeman Smith, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, paid tribute to the generosity of his ancestors. "It comes from Ima," he said, "that Choctaw concept that we give without the expectation of getting something in return. We saw ourselves in the plight of the Irish," he added.
"We had suffered starvation, disease, and exposure on the Trail of Tears."
One of the exhibit's most poignant artifacts is a Wampum Belt, presented by the Haudenosaunee Nationals (formerly Iroquois Nationals) to Ireland Lacrosse in 2022 for stepping aside so that they could compete in the World Games. Ireland Lacrosse had ceded its place in recognition that the Haudenosaunee had invented the sport and in memory of Indigenous contributions to Irish Famine relief in 1847.
"To commemorate and acknowledge this extraordinary selfless act of Team Ireland, we presented them with a Two Row Wampum belt," said Rex Lyons from the Onondaga Nation and Haudenosaunee Nationals. "Its two purple rows of beads represent the Haudenosaunee and Irish people travelling together in peace and friendship, while the white beads represent the river of life. We wanted to honor the Irish and Team Ireland for their sacrifice and their understanding of the spirit of Lacrosse."
The exhibition is sponsored by the College of Arts & Sciences' Hawley Platt Fund for Excellence in Historical Studies and Ethics, and the Government of Ireland Emigrant Support Programme.
The "Indigenous Aid to Ireland during the Great Hunger" exhibition is ongoing, free and open daily to the public in the Arnold Bernhard Library at Quinnipiac University. Contact the library to confirm operating hours: Phone (203) 582-3713 or visit Library Services @ qu.edu Location: Arnold Bernhard Library and Ongoing. Quinnipiac University, Mount Carmel Campus, Hamden, CT 06518.
