'The favour is returned': Native American Covid-19 relief fund thanks Irish people for their support

ORGANISERS OF AN online fund to help Native American people who’ve been affected by Covid-19 have thanked Irish people for their support.

A GoFundMe page for the Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation has so far surpassed $1.6 million. Organisers say these communities have a particularly high number of people in high-risk groups, such as those who are diabetic, asthmatic or who have cancer.

Covid-19 rates among the community are also higher-per capita than almost all US states.

The Navajo Nation is home to about 175,000 people in an area that straddles three southwestern states and is roughly the size of Scotland.

As well as poor phone and internet connectivity exacerbating information gaps, up to 30% of Navajo people do not have access to running water.

The goal of the Go Fund Me page is to support volunteers to bring groceries, water and health supplies to vulnerable people in the communities.

Many of the recent donors to the fund have come from Ireland, with messages on the message board making reference to the support of Native American people during Ireland’s Great Famine.

Despite facing starvation and poverty themselves, the people of the Choctaw Nation contributed $170 – which is about €3,950 today – to send food aid when they heard about Ireland’s struggle.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar thanked members of the community for their support while on a visit to the US in 2018.

The Choctaw people were from a different part of the modern day United States, four states across the Deep South, before many were forcefully moved to Oklahoma.

Despite the different communities being involved, organisers of the fund have made reference to the historic connections.

Friends and Family - I am very surprised and touched by the response this tweet received in the last 2 days! So many have generously donated & shared from all across the country, across Indian Country, & from the across the world - I'm looking at you IRELAND! Thank you! 🙏 — Aaron Yazzie (@YazzieSays) May 4, 2020 Source: Aaron Yazzie /Twitter

“Not long before the Great Hunger Famine in Ireland, 60,000 Native Americans, including the Choctaw people, had suffered through the experience of the Trail of Tears. The death of many people on the Trail of Tears sparked empathy for the Irish people in their time of need. Thus, the Choctaw extended $170 of relief aid,” organiser Vanessa Tulley wrote on the fundraising page.

“173 years later to today, the favour is returned through generous donations from the Irish people to the Navajo Nation during our time of crisis.