Help Waylon Gary White Deer repair his home
Donation protected
Introduction:
This is an appeal for a Choctaw friend, Waylon Gary White Deer, whose home, on a tribal reservation, suffered major damage during the recent snow and ice storm which turned Texas and Oklahoma into a disaster zone. More than anyone, Waylon has worked with diligence and generosity to deepen the friendship between Ireland and the Choctaw, and to keep alive the memory of his people's act of humanitarian generosity during Ireland's Great Hunger. A humanitarian act which continues to inspire acts of generosity in our time, such as we saw last year when the Navajo / Hopi people were seeking help with PPE and Covid-19 relief in South Dakota. Thanks, primarily to Waylon, the Choctaw story is fondly and respectfully remembered in Ireland and amongst the Irish Diaspora to this day.
For those who want to understand the backstory, please read on.
Background:
In 1989 I travelled as Director of AFrI to Oklahoma to thank the Choctaw Nation for their humanitarian generosity to Ireland during the worst year of Ireland's Great Hunger - 1847. The Choctaw, on hearing of the plight of the Irish, donated $170 from their meager resources. They were moved, no doubt, by the memory of their own Trail of Tears just 15 years earlier when they were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands in Mississippi to Oklahoma, during which they lost thousands of their people from cold and hunger.
During my visit, I invited the Choctaw leadership to lead the annual famine walk from Doolough to Louisburgh, Co. Mayo.
Thus began a remarkable connection which included a visit to the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma by President Mary Robinson in 1995, and the Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, in 2018, and reciprocal Choctaw visits to Ireland over the years.
In all of my dealing with the Choctaw the person who impressed me most was the distinguished Choctaw artist, Waylon Gary White Deer. He was always generous with his time and considerable talents. I found him to be a person of integrity.
Waylon's knowledge of Choctaw history and culture was compelling. As a Choctaw elder and tradition bearer he commanded respectful silence when he spoke to Irish audiences of his ancestors and drew his listeners into a sacred space.
Waylon has grown to love Ireland, its history, culture and the Irish language. He first came to Ireland as the guest of Concern Worldwide in 1995. That was his first of many visits promoting humanitarian and justice causes on behalf of Concern, AFrI and other organizations. He was asked by the Irish Government in 1995 to commemorate through his art the 1847 Choctaw gift for a substantial commission. He donated the entire commission for the humanitarian work of Concern Worldwide to mark the beginning of the 150th anniversary of An Gorta Mor (the Great Hunger).
Waylon's love for Ireland was such that he came to live here, primarily in the Donegal Gaeltacht, for eight years. His Famine related work has spanned 26 years during which he led various commemorative walks, gave lectures and talks, painted a mural in Derry's Creggan Estate, engaged in fundraising for humanitarian and justice causes, and was interviewed on national radio and television. He even made an appearance on RTE's popular soap 'Fair City', when it explored the Choctaw donation to Ireland. Waylon has also met with various Government ministers and has been warmly greeted by President Mary Robinson, President Mary McAleese, and our current President, Michael D. Higgins. He was also welcomed to the Northern Ireland Assembly by the late Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness MLA, and was warmly embraced by Derry's two Nobel Laureates, the late John Hume and Seamus Heaney.
In 2019, just before the Covid pandemic broke upon the world, he returned to Oklahoma to a small two story house, left to him by his father.
In the past year Waylon has suffered ill health and has been hospitalized twice with bronchial disorders, pneumonia and has undergone heart surgery.
In recent weeks we have heard of the disaster which affected Texas with unseasonal snow and ice storms. We have heard less about Oklahoma, but it too has been declared a disaster zone, with the Governor of Oklahoma State, Kevin Stitt, requesting on February 17, Federal help from President Biden due to the unexpected winter storm.
Waylon's home has suffered greatly. He informed me that all of the outside water lines and inside drainage pipes have burst which means the system has been wrecked and there has been severe internal flooding. His home is very poorly insulated and heated only with small electric space heaters. The weather bureau in Oklahoma has confirmed that more such super storms will be coming because of climate change. Due to his health issues, his home was not insured, simply because he was unable to work and could not afford it.
Waylon is now in his 70s and still dreams of returning to Ireland when the pandemic is over, to meet again his many friends.
Appeal:
In the meantime, I'm hoping that his friends in Ireland and in the great Irish Diaspora might support me in raising funds to help him repair his humble abode and make it comfortable and secure for the years ahead.
I am seeking US$10,000 for the immediate repairs. And, if we raise more, we can ensure that Waylon's home is properly insulated so that in the years remaining, especially during winter, he will be safe and comfortable, as he continues to do what he is best at, creating his extraordinary art.
Thank you for your kindness and, if possible, your support.
Yours sincerely,
Don Mullan
Dublin, Ireland
www.donmullan.org
This is an appeal for a Choctaw friend, Waylon Gary White Deer, whose home, on a tribal reservation, suffered major damage during the recent snow and ice storm which turned Texas and Oklahoma into a disaster zone. More than anyone, Waylon has worked with diligence and generosity to deepen the friendship between Ireland and the Choctaw, and to keep alive the memory of his people's act of humanitarian generosity during Ireland's Great Hunger. A humanitarian act which continues to inspire acts of generosity in our time, such as we saw last year when the Navajo / Hopi people were seeking help with PPE and Covid-19 relief in South Dakota. Thanks, primarily to Waylon, the Choctaw story is fondly and respectfully remembered in Ireland and amongst the Irish Diaspora to this day.
For those who want to understand the backstory, please read on.
Background:
In 1989 I travelled as Director of AFrI to Oklahoma to thank the Choctaw Nation for their humanitarian generosity to Ireland during the worst year of Ireland's Great Hunger - 1847. The Choctaw, on hearing of the plight of the Irish, donated $170 from their meager resources. They were moved, no doubt, by the memory of their own Trail of Tears just 15 years earlier when they were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands in Mississippi to Oklahoma, during which they lost thousands of their people from cold and hunger.
During my visit, I invited the Choctaw leadership to lead the annual famine walk from Doolough to Louisburgh, Co. Mayo.
Thus began a remarkable connection which included a visit to the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma by President Mary Robinson in 1995, and the Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, in 2018, and reciprocal Choctaw visits to Ireland over the years.
In all of my dealing with the Choctaw the person who impressed me most was the distinguished Choctaw artist, Waylon Gary White Deer. He was always generous with his time and considerable talents. I found him to be a person of integrity.
Waylon's knowledge of Choctaw history and culture was compelling. As a Choctaw elder and tradition bearer he commanded respectful silence when he spoke to Irish audiences of his ancestors and drew his listeners into a sacred space.
Waylon has grown to love Ireland, its history, culture and the Irish language. He first came to Ireland as the guest of Concern Worldwide in 1995. That was his first of many visits promoting humanitarian and justice causes on behalf of Concern, AFrI and other organizations. He was asked by the Irish Government in 1995 to commemorate through his art the 1847 Choctaw gift for a substantial commission. He donated the entire commission for the humanitarian work of Concern Worldwide to mark the beginning of the 150th anniversary of An Gorta Mor (the Great Hunger).
Waylon's love for Ireland was such that he came to live here, primarily in the Donegal Gaeltacht, for eight years. His Famine related work has spanned 26 years during which he led various commemorative walks, gave lectures and talks, painted a mural in Derry's Creggan Estate, engaged in fundraising for humanitarian and justice causes, and was interviewed on national radio and television. He even made an appearance on RTE's popular soap 'Fair City', when it explored the Choctaw donation to Ireland. Waylon has also met with various Government ministers and has been warmly greeted by President Mary Robinson, President Mary McAleese, and our current President, Michael D. Higgins. He was also welcomed to the Northern Ireland Assembly by the late Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness MLA, and was warmly embraced by Derry's two Nobel Laureates, the late John Hume and Seamus Heaney.
In 2019, just before the Covid pandemic broke upon the world, he returned to Oklahoma to a small two story house, left to him by his father.
In the past year Waylon has suffered ill health and has been hospitalized twice with bronchial disorders, pneumonia and has undergone heart surgery.
In recent weeks we have heard of the disaster which affected Texas with unseasonal snow and ice storms. We have heard less about Oklahoma, but it too has been declared a disaster zone, with the Governor of Oklahoma State, Kevin Stitt, requesting on February 17, Federal help from President Biden due to the unexpected winter storm.
Waylon's home has suffered greatly. He informed me that all of the outside water lines and inside drainage pipes have burst which means the system has been wrecked and there has been severe internal flooding. His home is very poorly insulated and heated only with small electric space heaters. The weather bureau in Oklahoma has confirmed that more such super storms will be coming because of climate change. Due to his health issues, his home was not insured, simply because he was unable to work and could not afford it.
Waylon is now in his 70s and still dreams of returning to Ireland when the pandemic is over, to meet again his many friends.
Appeal:
In the meantime, I'm hoping that his friends in Ireland and in the great Irish Diaspora might support me in raising funds to help him repair his humble abode and make it comfortable and secure for the years ahead.
I am seeking US$10,000 for the immediate repairs. And, if we raise more, we can ensure that Waylon's home is properly insulated so that in the years remaining, especially during winter, he will be safe and comfortable, as he continues to do what he is best at, creating his extraordinary art.
Thank you for your kindness and, if possible, your support.
Yours sincerely,
Don Mullan
Dublin, Ireland
www.donmullan.org
Organizer
Don Mullan
Organizer
County Dublin