Leadership from Yee Ha’ólníi Doo dba Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund has been invited to participate in the World Peace Gathering, taking place July 10-20, at Dripsey Castle in County Cork, Ireland. The international gathering, organized by Kindred Spirits Ireland, brings together global visionaries, elders, artists, and spiritual leaders for dialogue, ceremony and cultural exchange.
Representing Yee Ha’ólníi Doo (YHD) will be Board Chair Ethel Branch, Interim Executive Director Mary Francis, and Board Treasurer Vanessa Tullie. During the gathering, Yee Ha’ólníi Doo leadership will deliver a traditional cultural gift honoring the historic and enduring relationships between the Choctaw Nation, the Irish people, and the Navajo and Hopi Nations.
This invitation builds on a friendship that began in 2020 and was forged through shared remembrance and mutual aid. In 1847, during Ireland’s Great Hunger, members of the Choctaw Nation raised $170 in famine relief for the Irish people. Despite their hardship, the Choctaw extended this act of compassion, creating a legacy of solidarity that has been remembered for generations.
That legacy was reignited more than 170 years later. In March 2020, Branch launched a GoFundMe campaign to provide essential supplies to immunocompromised and vulnerable elders and families in remote areas of the Navajo and Hopi Nations. The campaign gained international attention after Aaron Yazzie, a NASA engineer and member of the Navajo Nation, tweeted the fundraiser. The tweet was then reshared by Naomi O’Leary, a correspondent for The Irish Times, who reminded Irish readers of the Choctaw’s 1847 donation.
The fundraiser quickly went viral in Ireland, with thousands of donors contributing along with messages such as “With love from Ireland” and “Solidarity from Ireland.” In the years since, what began as a moment of recognition has evolved into an enduring friendship. Yee Ha’ólníi Doo’s upcoming participation in the World Peace Gathering marks its second visit to Ireland in solidarity and friendship with Kindred Spirits.
“The gathering is an opportunity to honor the sacred ties between our peoples and to carry forward the spirit of kindness and mutual aid that has been passed on between our nations for generations,” said Branch. “We are humbled to represent our communities in a space that celebrates Indigenous leadership and collective healing.”
Since inception, Yee Ha’ólníi Doo has delivered over $12 million in direct relief through the course of the pandemic reaching over 500,000 people with food, water, masks, and PPE through a network of 30 trained teams and more than 1,300 volunteers. The organization’s relief efforts remain ongoing, including its recent response to the Oak Ridge Fire, which, as of July 2, has burned 10,623 acres with 0% containment, displacing more than 350 individuals across multiple shelters. Yee Ha’ólníi Doo has launched an active GoFundMe to raise funds for food, water, hygiene products, baby and pet supplies, and other essential needs for those displaced by the wildfire. The link to donate to the GoFundMe fundraiser is: https://gofund.me/28fea2e2.
In addition to emergency relief, Yee Ha’ólníi Doo manages a Resiliency Fund focused on community survival, well-being and self-determination. Through this fund, the organization has invested over $1 million in over 80 housing rehabilitation projects across 39 chapters in Apache, Coconino and Navajo counties on the Navajo Nation, supporting critical home repairs such as roof replacements and accessibility upgrades.
The fund also supports an Elderly Heating Program, which has provided firewood to over 2,000 households across Arizona, Utah and New Mexico on the Navajo Nation.
In addition, the fund has also established three community centers dedicated to rebuilding Navajo independence and local economy through cultural revitalization, language transmission, entrepreneurship, youth leadership, and food security.
These centers have served more than 28,000 people and support both pandemic-recovery and long-term, community-led development. Irish donors continue to support these centers, which are dedicated to rebuilding Navajo community independence through local economies, cultural revitalization, and language transmission.
During the three-day gathering, Yee Ha’ólníi Doo leadership will participate in speaker panels focused on cross-cultural exchange, environmental stewardship, global unity and peace, and building bridges. They will share stories of mutual aid, grassroots mobilization during the COVID-19 crisis, community impact, and engage in storytelling and ceremonial circles.
Delegates and speakers will include Indigenous leaders from Chickasaw, Choctaw, Lakota, Kalaallit of Greenland, Friesland, the Amazon, the Andes, the Council of the Condor, Eagle, Quetzal and Hummingbird, as well as Indigenous representatives from Ireland and other European communities.
The World Peace Gathering is open to global participation through live, virtual access. Event access and schedule are as follows:
Full Moon Eighth Fire Ceremony: July 10, 5-11 p.m. Irish time. World Peace Gathering Main Sessions: July 18-20, from 1 to 8 p.m. Irish time. Free virtual access during the event is available at https://sine-network.zoom.us/j/89846571811. For information on the full program visit, www.kindredspirits.earth.
