True story: In 1847, a community of Choctaw people — whose ancestral villages had been burned and who had been forced to walk 600 miles to new territory — heard about the Irish Potato Famine. Immediately their empathy was aroused. Here were other people oppressed by a dominant culture, who were losing their land, removed from their homes, and left to starve. In honor of the suffering of both Nations, the Choctaw community scraped together $170, the equivalent of about $5,000 today — a huge amount for people struggling to survive. They gave this money to the Irish people for famine relief.
A series of short, in-the-moment scenes make this story — which, all told, covers nearly 200 years of history — accessible to readers ages five to eight. A young girl runs along rows of potato plants, whose leaves were bright green until today, when they are wilted and blotchy. She warns her father, a farmer, who can’t explain the overnight change. The famine has begun. In another scene, we look back to 1832, and see:
“Mothers’, fathers’, and grandparents’
faces are streaked with tears
as they think about their own losses.
“They think now of the anguish they felt
when their land was stolen
and their villages burned to the ground.”
What fills this book with hope is the cycle of generosity that continues. Seven generations in the future, the Irish people remember the sacrificial gift of the Choctaw. Irish sculptor Alex Pentek creates a monument named Kindred Spirits: an empty bowl made of nine 20-foot-tall eagle feathers, recalling the past hunger of both nations. Generosity goes even further when people in Ireland learn of the spread of Covid among Navajo and Hopi tribes, for whom hospitals are few and far away. They raise more than three million dollars to help.
The book closes with further historical information and an illustrated timeline. A glossary helps with Irish and Choctaw words interspersed throughout the story, and a resources section lets readers know where they can learn more.
Illustrator Johnson Yazzie’s realistic paintings reveal the compassion, helpfulness, and humanity of the people he portrays. He is a member of a non-profit group, Reunion of the Masters, that works with the Southwest Indian Foundation of Gallup, New Mexico to promote Native American art and to develop artistic talent among students.
Author Leslie Stall Widener is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and has illustrated six Choctaw-related picture books. This is her nonfiction debut as a picture book author. She closes her author’s note by reminding us that “Good deeds from the heart, large or small, often have far-reaching effects that one cannot anticipate.”
