The suitcase is stored now, but it's going to take quite some time to unpack the many thoughts I had while travelling with the Sharing Lands project in Oklahoma these past few weeks. Huge thanks to the Choctaw Cultural Center, the Choctaw Nation, & all those who shared stories, ideas, & spaces!

Off on our travels. Again! The @sharinglands.bsky.social team are bound for Oklahoma very soon, & very much looking forward to revisting the Choctaw Cultural Center & the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Keep an eye for news over the next two weeks! #choctawireland #irishfamine #thegift #solidarity

The @thechoctawgift team is delighted - & hugely excited - to announce that Jay Wesley, a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, & director for the Department of Chahta Immi, will introduce our screening of Sinners tomorrow evening! #sharinglands #MississippiBandofChoctaw #sinners

I'm very much looking forward to seeing everyone at this special screening too!

We love public broadcasting! RTE is home to 'Nationwide', and will feature the Choctaw-Ireland Scholarship Programme at UCC tonight (Weds, Feb 18). You can watch internationally via the RTE Player @choctawnationOK #sharinglands @Choctaw_CC #chahtafoundation @ucc.ie

Blood Runs Green is a bargain $9.99 on the #Chicago University Press website. If you like true crime, #murder, Irish republicanism, #spies, Chicago & Irish #history it should be right up your street. #truecrime

Happy New Year! (It's getting a bit late for that line, but we're keen to spread as much post-holiday cheer as we can, this "Blue Monday"!) We're delighted to say that the video featuring Aliyah, Colt, and Tom has just dropped: sharinglands.com/blog/ Enjoy & pls share!

Massive thanks too to Jacob Sakil, who runs American Bites in Peckham, for his cooking, for sharing traditions & stories, & being a real friend to the project. Who else would have made the Choctaw dish bvnaha *&* Irish cornbread. Go raibh mile maith agat!

Sharing Lands was delighted with - and rather blown away by - the crowds, the energy, & the enthusiasm @ the Festival of Migration, held @TheAlbanySE8 on Saturday, November 18. Huge thanks to everyone who participated, & the organisers (especially @willcenci & our Goldsmiths' RKE colleagues).

Very much looking forward to Festival of Migration | Being Human Festival event in Deptford (tomorrow, one day only!) share.google/NFKmxpNYvjcu... Organised by @thechoctawgift's Dr Shelley Angelie Saggar! Come join us if you can. #sharinglands #choctaw/irish #irishfamine #goldsmiths

On All Soul's Day, Irish people lit candles on graves, left food for the dead, & were in communication with the ancestors. Meanwhile, evil spirits were warded against (carved turnips being especially good guardians! Over time, pumpkins were used in the US). #interconnectedness #enduringtraditions

On Samhain, & ahead of Día de los Muertos, we wanted to share a picture of the ofrenda (altar) on show @BriscoeMuseum. Complex, palimpsestic, layering's of pre-Christian & Catholic traditions are evident in both Irish & Indigenous cultures. Aztec culture honoured the dead in a month-long festival.

Kind of hard to say how much it made my heart sing to see this banner on @brindishemanorschool (as opposed to the usual league-table, metric-driven, brag fest, OFSTED-related drivel we see on school gates, fences, & the backsides of buses)! There is hope...

Everyone at Sharing Lands is truly excited about this upcoming event! Please do share details of this online event widely (& pop along if you can). Our thanks to Aliyah, Colt & Tom for their help, advice, & involvement so far.

250 years on from the signing of the Treaty of Doak's Stand, the Sharing Lands team reflect on this complex moment in Choctaw history, and the ways in which it represents tribal sovereignty and survivance today. sharinglands.com/2025/10/20/t...

It's just under 2 weeks until @beinghumanfest.bsky.social 'Festival of Migration'! Come down to sample Choctaw and Irish recipes and discover the Indigenous histories behind everyday foods. @goldsmithsuol.bsky.social @goldsmithsenglish.bsky.social

We've lots to share about our recent trip to Texas, & want to start with the Limerick-Frazier house in Austin. Designed by Joseph Limerick, who was born in 1798 & left Ireland in 1850, the house was bought by John & Laura Allman Frazier in 1905.

The house needs some love today, & is currently for sale. Nevertheless, it stands as an intriguing & powerful reminder of the interwoven & rich histories found in Austin #irishaustin #blackhistory #sharinglands #thegift

A professor at Samuel Huston College, John was a prominent educator. He & Laura opened their home to travellers during the Jim Crow era, when white-owned lodgings turned Black customers away; their home featured in the Green Book. Laura continued the work after John's death.

This week, my colleagues @gillianobrien.bsky.social & Shelley Saggar are, respectively, attending the #worldfoodforum @fao.org in Rome, & putting finishing touches to the @sharinglands.bsky.social contribution to the Festival of Migration share.google/dBbu6QYQK7Ph... Brilliantly busy times!

It's #IndigenousNations Day in the US & it great to mark it listening to Chief Deskaheh #Haudenosaunee, Kenneth Deer, #Mohawk & Anders Oskal, #Sámi speak at the World Food Forum in #Rome. Tomorrow I'll speak about reciprocity in the context of the #Irish #Choctaw relationship. #wff2025 •

The #sharinglands research team will be at #nanonagleplace tomorrow at 1:15pm, & will be talking about the @choctawgift to the Irish & more. Join us if you're in Cork City!

The Choctaw Nation Trail of Tears Bike Team (2025) have made it back to Tribal Headquarters in Oklahoma safely and very happily. Genuinely honoured to have been invited by the Team to join them, & awed at the support.... Chief Gary Batton rode in with us, & there was a huge welcome waiting.

On Friday, May 23 the Choctaw Nation Trail of Tears Bike Team will arrive at Tribal Headquarters, having travelled 500+ miles from the tribal homelands to Calera, OK. It's been a remarkable trip.... Huge thanks to all those who have supported; help us to cross the line in style! gofund.me/f10bd86a

4:55am, rising time. 5:30am, load bags & check bikes. 6:30am, roll out.... Day 5 of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Trail of Tears Bike Ride is about to begin. Over £1,500 has been raised to support the team. Let's try for £2,000 by Friday: gofund.me/be0ef423 Please share widely & often!

Trail of Tears Ride, Day 4 - Arkansas (Camden to Hope), followed by a trip to Washington State Park. Jana (Boykin) and Ryan (Spring) talked us through the story of how some of the people of Hope offered the Choctaws food during their long walk from Mississippi to Oklahoma. Riveting day....

Looking forward to reading this series! Keep an eye out for a special piece on #Choctaw #Irish mutual aid by our Postdoctoral Researcher, Dr Shelley Angelie Saggar.

Choctaw Nation Trail of Tears Bike Team ride, Day 3. Monticello to Camden, Arkansas. Learned about river cane along the way, courtesy of Ryan Spring (Tribal Historic Preservation Department), as well as about the Choctaw ancestors' journey through Camden, AR.

Tallulah, Louisiana to Lake Village, Arkansas, via the U.S. Highway 65 (the Delta Rhythm & Bayous Highway). Day 2 of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Bike Team's Trail of Tears ride. The distances covered by Choctaws during the 1830s are simply staggering....

Day 1 of the #choctawnationtrailoftearsbiketeam ride done! Dancing Rabbit to Ridgeline. Even the dampest of damp starts didn't deter the team. Kudos to the whole crew! All donations to the effort are hugely welcome. Let's keep the cycle going. gofund.me/c72f105e

200 bottles of Gatorade. 300 bottles of water. 60 Clif bars. 500+ miles. 9 riders. 4 support crew. 3 tribal vehicles. ONE CHALLNGE. Choctaw Nation Trail of Tears Bike Team starts a huge ride from Missisissipii to Oklahoma tomorrow. Please help us to keep the cycle going. #choctawgift #sharinglands

Fascinating work week - #convent, #conference, #corpse & a #museum! #monaghan #liverpool #dalkey @irishmuseums.bsky.social @ljmuhistory.bsky.social @ljmuimpact.bsky.social @histassoc.bsky.social

The BBC, NPR, RTE, Guardian, UN, & literally scores & scores of news sources & govrmnt agencies have reported stories similar to the Times' piece below. What does it take for the world to respond? www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/w...

A day in the life of a bikebox.... SE4 to Calera, OK, ahead of the Trail of Tears Bike Ride. Excited to be the first Irish rider to join at the invitation of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma's bike team! You can support the riders here: gofund.me/f10bd86a #sharinglands #honouringthefaminegift

This ....👇 "The Choctaw Nation Trail of Tears Bike Team supports the importance of MMIW …show your support, wear Red."

Lovely to be able to chat with Colt this week, online. Thanks to everyone who has supported the bike ride so far. Please do share, if you can, and please donate too. gofund.me/53143206 www.linkedin.com/posts/padrai...

Brilliant to be able to share our work on transatlantic legacies of the #ChoctawGift and collaborative research practices at @officialbaas.bsky.social yesterday. We've got lots coming up so follow along for more on the project as things develop.

Sharing Lands are at @OfficialBAAS today discussing our work as part of a panel on #IndigenousStudies Research in the UK! Come and find us to learn more about #SharingLands

I'll be joining the **Choctaw Nation Trail of Tears Bike** team this May, and participating in a 7-day cycle that follows one of the historic routes walked by the Choctaw during their Removal from their tribal homelands. @choctawnationOK @IrelandCGAustin

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Yesterday marked the 178th anniversary of the #ChoctawGift. Our team share their thoughts on the extraordinary bond between the Choctaw Nation and the people of Ireland and what the Gift might teach us today. Read our reflections over on our blog👇 sharinglands.com/2025/03/23/t...

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This St Patrick's Weekend (why confine it to 1 day?!), we're taking a moment to remember & celebrate the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma's Trail of Tears Bike Team, who have invited 2 Irish riders to join them in May 2025 Please share☘️☘️ gofund.me/53143206 Please share widely!!

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