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In 1831, the United States government forcibly relocated the Choctaw tribe from Mississippi to the Oklahoma territories. Many Choctaws died during the trip, known as “The Trail of Tears,” while many survivors faced tremendous hardships adapting to the cold weather. However, the Choctaw had a tradition of helping others and a mere 16 years later — during the height of the Irish Potato Famine in 1847 — they pooled resources and donated $170 to relief efforts on the Emerald Isle.

This weekend, Queens Museum and Queens Theatre will honor this act of generosity with An Irish Choctaw Thanksgiving, featuring live music, dance performances and screenings of inspiring films. Funds raised will go to Hour Children, a Long Island City-based nonprofit that works with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and their children, and No Kid Hungry Share Our Strength, a nonprofit that connects children in need to nutritious food.

Details after jump.

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The Oklahoma Fancy Dancers, Darrah Carr Irish Dance, and Cruel Seamus will perform at Queens Theatre on Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm. Plus, Celtic Cross and Deni Bonet will headline a benefit at the same venue on Saturday at 7 pm that will also feature Oklahoma Fancy Dancers and Darrah Carr Irish Dance.

Meanwhile, Queens Museum will screen movies and present discussions with the following schedule on Saturday.

  • Choctaw Code Talkers, 12:30 pm, 56 minutes. In 1918, Choctaw members of the American Expeditionary Forces used their language as a powerful tool against the German forces in World War I, setting a precedent for code talking as an effective military weapon and establishing them as America’s original code talkers. The documentary will be preceded by Short Film Search for the World’s Best Indian Taco (12 minutes), a whimsical short about a Choctaw grandfather who regales his grandson with tall tales about his lifelong quest for true love.
  • Return to the Sea, 3 pm, 66 minutes. This film documents the vulnerable, indigenous, Irish-speaking community of Inishbofin Island off the northwest coast of County Donegal.
  • A Pearl of Great Price, 4:30 pm, 60 minutes. This documentary depicts Scott Winters’ experience as an EMT in Haiti after the epic earthquake in 2010. The film follows four men from New York City who journeyed on their own dime days after the tremor to bring front line aid to countless victims. Winters will discuss his experiences in a post-film Q&A.

The Sunday schedule follows.

  • Second screening of Choctaw Code Talkers, 12:30 pm, 56 minutes and Short Film Search for the World’s Best Indian Taco (12 minutes).
  • The Native, 3:30 pm, 24 minutes. A middle aged Irish American arrives in Belfast for a business meeting and is greeted at the airport by a taxi driver who has been hired to drive him around. As the journey progresses it becomes clear that this is not a typical tourist. This soul-searcher is forced to question his cultural heritage and examine the traditional stereotypes of what it means to be Irish.
  • A Place At The Table, 4 pm, 85 minutes. Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine hunger in America through the lens of three people struggling with food insecurity: Barbie, a single Philadelphia mother who grew up in poverty and is trying to provide a better life for her two kids; Rosie, a Colorado fifth-grader who often has to depend on friends and neighbors to feed her and has trouble concentrating in school; and Tremonica, a Mississippi second-grader whose asthma and health issues are exacerbated by the largely empty calories her hardworking mother can afford.

Music and dance details at Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Avenue South, Flushing Meadows Corona Park: November 29th, 2 pm ($14) and 7 pm ($30), November 30th, 2 pm ($14), click here to buy tickets.

Screening details at Queens Museum, NYC Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park: November 29th, Choctaw Code Talkers, 12:30 pm; Return to the Sea, 3 pm; and A Pearl of Great Price, 4:30 pm; plus November 30th, Choctaw Code Talkers, 12:30 pm; The Native, 3:30 pm; and A Place At The Table, 4 pm.

Top photo: Queens Museum; bottom photo: Queens Theatre


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