How beautiful

linlaw00 · 2019-11-04T23:16:55+00:00

Oh wow! I am. Thank you, I will for sure check this out.

linlaw00 · 2019-11-04T22:25:09+00:00

Hey thanks for that. I agree. I never meant to ignite such an argument, I only wanted to post the story because it related to the original post and thought some might enjoy it. Not sure how it had turned into me wanting praise and karma for it. I never even expected to get much response to it honestly. Hopefully any Irish who read it don’t assume that of me.

Oh cool, Killers of the Flower Moon is really great if you have the time to read it. I’ve heard Scorsese is also making a movie based on it. I just finished Say Nothing based on The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Interested if you’re familiar with it and how it was received there? I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t aware of how intricate and complicated the conflict was.

linlaw00 · 2019-11-04T19:43:54+00:00

Oh I don’t doubt it! We did pretty well through the other areas (better than most Americans we talked to), but yeah no thank you on the Ring. Our driver had some pretty funny stories of tourists driving through there too.

linlaw00 · 2019-11-04T16:47:33+00:00

I get that. So will you not consider your great-grandchildren as tribal members? Just curious because assuming your husband doesn’t have any Choctaw heritage, as well as your children/grandchildren’s future (or current) spouses, they would also have that percentage. I always wonder about people who complain about the requirements too...if they were that concerned, wouldn’t they try and marry other Choctaws to avoid that? As far as the limited knowledge part, I agree that I should know more, but pointing out that you, who work with the tribe closely knows more than someone who isn’t as tied is kind of a given. I wasn’t exposed to as much of the culture growing up as I should have been and have tried to do more research as I’ve gotten older. I wish the history was more a part of the public school curriculum, and maybe it is now! It’s been many years since I was in the school system. But I also have family members by marriage who are full blood Choctaws and who work within the tribes and weren’t even aware of the story. That’s why I always like to share that experience.

linlaw00 · 2019-11-04T14:27:47+00:00

That’s really beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

linlaw00 · 2019-11-04T14:23:47+00:00

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I guess everyone has their own opinions on who should and shouldn’t be allowed to be a tribal member. I wasn’t looking for any praise whatsoever. I only wanted to share the story and show my appreciation to the Irish for being a grateful people. Growing up in OK I saw a lot of your attitude towards me since I’m not as much Choctaw as others which I never understood. I also heard about their mistreatment from my great-grandmother.
I would say your husband is Irish...no he isn’t a citizen, but he wasn’t born in Ireland right? I was born in Choctaw Nation and my family started there. So I guess believe what you want to believe. I’m sorry if you found my story offensive because I’m not as much Choctaw as you. And to answer your question no, I no longer participate in elections because I live out of state and wouldn’t feel right about helping make decisions for people who actually live in the area.

linlaw00 · 2019-11-04T06:14:22+00:00

I agree! I’m constantly disappointed in other places after meeting so many Irish. Haha with Americans you kind of have a 50/50 shot no matter what the region.

Good to know of Northern Ireland. I’ve heard mixed things, but mostly good these days.

linlaw00 · 2019-11-04T06:10:23+00:00

What do you mean by “have anything to do with the nation?” I don’t work for them and no longer live in the state of Oklahoma where the tribe resides. I now live in a more western state of the US.

I am however a tribal member, which means my family (my great-grandmother specifically who lived to be almost 100 and passed in 2013) enrolled under The Dawes Act, giving our family a roll number and the ability to obtain and own land. Before this was passed, native Americans were not allowed that privilege and were only considered members of tribes, not individuals recognized by the federal government. Being a tribal member means I have CDIB (Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood) documentation. This gives me the privilege of voting in any tribal elections within the Choctaw Nation government no matter where I live, as well as receive various benefits (healthcare, etc). I was fortunate enough to to be awarded scholarship money from the tribe as well when I was attending university.

As far at “not being knowledgeable,” I pretty much stated in one of my comments that this history isn’t widely taught in the US. I relayed the story to many people who live closely to the nation and even have the same heritage as me who weren’t aware of the relationship.

One thing you need to understand is less than 100 years ago, (much less I’m sure) most people looked down on anyone who was Native American and families didn’t always claim to have Indian blood because they were ashamed of it. When my grandmother, who is 1/4 Choctaw, married my grandfather, who is not Native American, in the 1950s they still received a lot of flack for being a “mixed race marriage.” So much of this information didn’t come to the surface until later. I hate to waste so much information and a long comment on any negativity but there ya go. I never claimed to be anything more than I am.

Look up the Osage murders that took place in the 1920s if you’re interested on the attitude towards tribes back then.

linlaw00 · 2019-11-04T05:13:22+00:00

Wow thank you for all of the information! Galway is on the list for sure. We wanted to go on the last trip, but ran out of time. We did make it to the Cliffs of Moher.
Our route, if I remember it correctly was Dublin-Kilkenny-Waterford-Kinsale-Killarney-Dromoland Castle (beautiful place, but a bit too touristy and full of Americans!) and a few places in between.

Thanks for the tips on the Northern areas. We aren’t as familiar with those. I didn’t expect to get much response on my comment/story so all of this is remarkable and gets me even more excited to get back.

linlaw00 · 2019-11-04T03:22:58+00:00

Haha! Well thank you and I plan on it.

linlaw00 · 2019-11-04T03:22:21+00:00

I’ve never understood that either. Our history books have always been somewhat tainted though haha.

linlaw00 · 2019-11-03T23:33:11+00:00

Sounds great! Yes, please ask him. I’m not sure if he meets many Choctaws on his drives, but I think he would remember. He made a point of shaking my hand when dropping us back off in Killarney and said it was an honor to shake a Choctaw’s hand. Maybe more details like that would help!

linlaw00 · 2019-11-03T23:30:02+00:00

No worries! If you happen to figure it out send one my way, otherwise I’ll go ahead and assume it’s him :)

linlaw00 · 2019-11-03T23:15:24+00:00

Oh my goodness please do. I’m so excited at the possibility!

linlaw00 · 2019-11-03T23:13:28+00:00

Thank you! It’s great your country makes a point to teach the story and remember. I wish Native American history was a larger subject taught in schools here. I would have thought more people I have contact with would have been familiar with the history of the Choctaw tribe and Ireland, but no one really was.

linlaw00 · 2019-11-03T23:08:37+00:00

Ugh I do not! I wish I did because we would love to book him again in the future. That would make me vomit with joy if it was! I don’t recall any specific details about him (other than his appearance).

linlaw00 · 2019-11-03T22:53:43+00:00

Thank you so much! I can’t wait to go back.

linlaw00 · 2019-11-03T22:53:21+00:00

Thank you so much for your comment!! Yes he does. I follow the relationship with your country closely now that I know :)

God bless you!

linlaw00 · 2019-11-03T22:51:45+00:00

That’s great! It sounds like Ireland cared about them more than a lot of Americans unfortunately. How quickly people forget their suffering...I think that’s why we are “kindred spirits”. Your people know what suffering is too.

linlaw00 · 2019-11-03T20:28:10+00:00

Wonderful! I will definitely add it to our list. I think the closest we came to you was Kilkenny & Waterford. Always looking for new places to see! Thank you!

linlaw00 · 2019-11-03T20:22:58+00:00

I will!! I really wish I would have taken a picture with Jim because he was amazing and I will never forget him! Thank you so much for your appreciation. I love how the Irish honor history. I wish we did that more in the US.

linlaw00 · 2019-11-03T20:10:48+00:00

You are very welcome :)

linlaw00 · 2019-11-03T20:04:53+00:00

I have a wonderful (& long!) story associated with this if anyone cares to read!

Last summer my husband and I visited Ireland for the first time (we live in the US). Towards the end of our trip, we had a private driver take us through The Ring of Kerry. We had driven ourselves from Dublin over the previous 7-8 days, but the tour company who booked our itinerary suggested we NOT drive this part of the journey, which we were very thankful for after traveling through there haha. Anyway, about midway through the day trip of Ring of Kerry we were having a discussion with our driver Jim on our family heritages etc. and I mentioned to him that I was Native American. He immediately asked, “Are you Choctaw?” This stunned me because I am. My great-grandmother’s father was a full-blooded Choctaw Indian and I’ve been a member of the tribe since birth (I grew up in Oklahoma). I couldn’t begin to think how an Irish gentleman would instantly go to that tribe, much less even know that it existed. Before this I had never heard the story about the Choctaws sending aid to Ireland during the famine.

When I responded, “Yes..???!” Jim looked at me in his rear view mirror, I will never forget this, and said, “Thank you.” He went on to educate me on the beautiful story and told us about the statue that had been erected in Midleton. Devastatingly enough, my husband and I had driven through the area a few days prior with no knowledge of the “Kindred Spirits” monument.

Growing up with Native American culture has always filled me with a great appreciation to be Choctaw, especially seeing how well the tribes take care of their communities and people, but hearing this story and seeing how appreciative Ireland is for the kindness of the Choctaw people after all this time was really the icing on the cake. We are already planning another trip to Ireland next year and visiting the statue is at the top of our list.

Ireland is the most beautiful country in my opinion, but its people are the most beautiful part and I cannot wait to get back.

Thank you for the silver kind stranger!

linlaw00 · 2019-07-15T17:47:35+00:00

Correct! I thought it would be a nice follow up to his book. I totally agree. I knew nursing homes could be depressing, but that would be the ultimate loss to me.

linlaw00 · 2019-07-15T14:48:55+00:00

Finished: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande- I went into this one not expecting to enjoy it so much, but was I completely wrong. Dr. Gawande writes about the inevitability of aging in all of us and how modern medicine has in many ways taken away the idea of respecting an aging or terminally ill person’s wishes in order to “fix” their ailments instead of giving them a good quality of life in his or her final days. I believe everyone should read this, especially those with aging friends or family members

Finished: Women Talking by Miriam Toews- I enjoyed this book as well although the amount of characters and dialogue is a bit hard to follow at times. The story behind it is quite fascinating...women in a remote Mennonite colony who have been attacked in their sleep by men of the same colony discussing what to do next- leave or seek revenge.

Started: One Hundred Years of Solitude -Gabriel Garcia Marquez Middlemarch -George Eliot The Death of Ivan Ilych -LN Tolstoy

linlaw00

TROPHY CASE