Welcome to the West Michigan Homeschool Theatre's student written production of BRIDGE OF HOPE! The story is based on true historical events and the ongoing friendship between the Irish and the Choctaw. Both peoples experienced great sorrow and suffering; the Choctaw in regards to the Indian Removal Act and the Irish in regards to the Potato famine. Director Mary Balwin first learned of this story through a book, The Long March, given to her by her part Choctaw daughter-in-law.
It touched her heart so deeply that she was determined to share this story. Six drama students rose to the occasion to write the script, a large cast stepped up to perform it, and many hours of labor by gifted volunteers have led to this on-stage performance.
In addition to the labor from these West Michigan Homeschool Students, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Historic Preservation Department and the Choctaw Cultural Center in Durant, Oklahoma. The drama seniors, Kellie and Nathan Torok had the opportunity to visit the Choctaw Cultural Center in January.
One of the resources used that was shared by the Oklahoma Historic Preservation Department was a Newsletter called the Iti Fabvssa. An article in the newsletter discusses the concept of "Iyyi Kowa" which perhaps explains the great heart of the Choctaw people towards those in need. Here is an excerpt from that article:
In the Choctaw language “Iyyi Kowa,” literally means “broken foot.” This may seem like a strange name, but this term refers to those people who are injured, sick, or otherwise incapable of doing essential activities. The implication of Iyyi Kowa is that those with “broken feet” will receive the assistance they need. Yet, Iyyi Kowa has roots that go far below the surface meaning, and are in fact as deep as Choctaw culture itself. Up until around the turn of the 19th
century, most Choctaw people lived in villages with family and friends, whom they saw nearly every day of their lives.
Back in those times, there was no concept of land ownership or of wages or of financial debt, and there was no time clock to punch. Their mindset was such that rather than idealizing wealthy people, as we generally do today, they looked down on them as selfish individuals focused on themselves instead of the people around them. Such a person might be ridiculed as a “nan ihullo,” a “lover of things.” Choctaw insults don’t get much worse than that. Rather than working to amass wealth, Choctaw people of this time period worked at the task of living itself, providing the food and materials that their communities needed to live comfortably. They often made their tasks more pleasant by working in groups with laughing, joking, and the work itself building camaraderie. They worked in such teams to build houses for neighbors, to build defensive works around villages, to prepare agricultural fields, to plant, tend, and harvest crops, and probably other things too. With this manner of working, everyone was a part of the team, and given a way to contribute in line with his or her resources and abilities. With group work, community members who needed extra labor assistance could get it without being looked down on. Similarly, because sharing was viewed as better than possessing, community members in need of material items would likely receive them.
All of this might seem like a lot of trouble, but in reality, when the needs of every family in the community had been met, our ancestors were still left with far more time for leisure, artwork, exercise, and fun than our “advanced” society allows us today. At the time, there may not have even been a specific name for this concept of communal work and service. It was probably just
taken for granted as a normal behavior.
When Europeans came, they brought the teachings of Christianity, but also brought and imposed their own concept of being separate from one’s neighbor. As early as the late 1700s, the U.S. agent to the Choctaws began to encourage Choctaw families to move out of the ancient villages and start setting up separate homesteads, as Europeans did. By the early 1900s, when Choctaw lands were broken up and allotted to individual people in dispersed areas, the Choctaw concept of community was dramatically changed to fit the European concept. Now, instead of seeing and working with neighbors every day, families
had to be self-sufficient. Self sufficiency had its advantages, but also meant that an injury to a key family member during the wrong time of year might mean that family couldn’t plant or harvest the crops needed for its survival, or that it couldn’t butcher and preserve meat
for the next year. Then of course, there was always the threat of an unexpected catastrophe, like a chimney fire that could literally leave a family out in the cold.
Programming courtesy of Loring Video Production.
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