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WELCOME TO KINDRED SPIRITS
The Kindred Spirits Ireland Event was created in July 2022. It was born out of Empathy, Compassion and Kindness in 1847 with a gift of kindness from one subjugated nation to another. The significance of the sheer empathic compassion with which this gift of kindness was bestowed was never forgotten by the Irish people. Its example demands our attention and honor, as it has done over the years. However in 2020, during the Covid Pandemic, the Irish people finally had a chance to repay the kindness shown to their ancestors in 1847 by the Choctaw nation, during the Great Hunger, (An Gorta Mor).
On 19th July 2022, on the 175th anniversary of the Choctaw gift, the Kindred Spirits Ireland Event was created to share in Celebration and Thanks; for it seemed the story had gone full circle. However, a circle does not end…. Little did anyone realise at the time, but the story had only begun. Kindred Spirits Ireland and the Irish people were about to be woven into the very fabric of the five hundred year old indigenous prophecy of the Condor and the Eagle, recognized as a fellow indigenous island nation and included in the indigenous Bio-Regions Sanctuary network. The connections and the story continues…
OUR NARRATIVE
What has come to be known as the “poly-crises” of Climate change, environmental destruction, deepening inequality and war leaves humanity staring at the abyss of possible extinction later this century. Though recognized for its seriousness by governments, nations and international organisations alike “the system” seems incapable of self-generating responses on a scale appropriate to the problem. Goodwill and (often) genuine effort in the form of seemingly endless initiatives, conferences and treaties only seem to leave us ever more trapped – like a man bound in wet ropes whose struggles to escape tighten the knots of his helplessness. Our contention is that a crucial part of the equation has been missing – the wisdom and science of the earth’s First Nations, whose input has been shamefully minimized in global efforts to combat the poly-crises at precisely the time when their wisdom of living as part of the planet is most needed. This paper addresses one part of that wisdom: Bridge Building between nations and draws heavily on the experience of the Kindred Spirits movement launched in Ireland in 2022.
Clearly the moment in history for bridge-building among nations is now upon us: The urgent need for this is taken as obvious for our purpose. Attracting little attention (in the main stream) is the bridge-building among first nations which, we hold, can be the exemplar of universal re-membering- understood as reconstituting or reassembling that which has been dismembered.
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KINDRED SPIRITS SCULPTURE
Our first event and chosen location was largely inspired by the wonderful “Kindred Spirit” Sculpture located in Midleton, Cork, Ireland.
An outdoor sculpture titled Kindred Spirits commemorates the link between Ireland and Native Americans. The sculpture by Irish artist Alex Pentek is a stainless steel structure of eagle feathers forming a circle and represents the gift of a bowl of food.
Kindred Spirits commemorates the 1847 donation by the Native American Choctaw People to Irish famine relief during the Great Hunger, despite the Choctaw themselves living in hardship and poverty and having recently endured the Trail of Tears. Irish donors are now citing that gesture as they help two tribes during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This has an Irish drumbeat that carries a global resonance” says RTE.
*Please note that Kindred Spirits Ireland 2022, and KindredSpirits.Earth, have no formal or legal connection or even association at this point, with the creators or custodians of the Kindred Spirits Sculpture.
AMAZING MUST WATCH VIDEOS
Watch this beautiful, heartfelt interview below telling of how during covid, the Irish took their opportunity to repay thanks to the Native American people. Click here for more.
Here’s some more videos we believe, are a must see about the amazing human spirit that has inspired the upcoming event. We highly recommend checking out these videos here and be sure to come back as we will be making many updates in the coming weeks!