July 17, 2025: Ceann Comhairle, Verona Murphy TD, met with a delegation from Yee Ha’ólníi Doo - the Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund - to a handwoven Navajo rug, gifted to the people of Ireland.House

To express appreciation for the kindness and generosity shown by the Irish people during the Covid-19 pandemic, a delegation representing Yee Ha’ólníi Doo (the Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund) visited Leinster House in Dublin on Thursday, July 17.

The Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund commissioned a handwoven Navajo rug, crafted by a Diné (Navajo) artist, as a gift to the people of Ireland and as a symbol of gratitude and friendship.

The Ceann Comhairle, Verona Murphy TD, accepted the gift on behalf of the Houses of the Oireachtas on Thursday.

The Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund was established at the height of the pandemic to ensure vulnerable community members could access food and PPE and safely shelter at home. The campaign became one of the top GoFundMe fundraisers of 2020, raising $18 million.

The list of donors to the GoFundMe page is dominated by Irish surnames, and many donors left comments to say they were giving in remembrance of how, in 1847, members of the Choctaw tribe raised $170 in famine relief for Ireland, a huge sum for a time when they had very little.

The rug presented on Thursday commemorates both the enduring legacy of the Choctaw-Irish bond and the recent outpouring of support from Ireland during a time of need.

It includes a depiction of Kindred Spirits (Alex Pentek, 2015), a sculpture commissioned by Cork County Council to commemorate the Choctaw donation.

The Kindred Spirits sculpture in Co Cork. (Ireland's Content Pool)

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On Thursday, the Ceann Comhairle said: “It’s a great honour to accept this wonderful piece of art on behalf of the Houses of the Oireachtas and the Irish people.

"It’s a tangible reminder that empathy with another’s plight can cross a vast ocean and that even small acts of kindness can make a lasting impact.”

Ethel Branch, co-founder and chairperson of the board, said: "The solidarity and compassion extended to the Navajo and Hopi nations, inspired by the historic gift of the Choctaw Nation to Ireland during the Great Famine, has left an indelible mark on our communities."

(Houses of the Oireachtas, Flickr)

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Members of the Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund arrived in Ireland on July 8 for the Kindred Spirits World Peace Gathering, which is being hosted in Dripsey, Co Cork.

"From Dinétah to Dripsey Castle—we’re deepening sacred ties between Navajo, Choctaw Irish communities, rooted sovereignty & solidarity," the group said on social media upon arriving in Ireland.