1) In the mid-19th century, a potato blight destroyed the potato crops in Ireland, which was the primary food source for many poor Irish. As a result, over a million Irish people starved to death. 2) In 1847, the Choctaw tribe of American Indians, who had endured their own hardship on the Trail of Tears, generously donated money to help the starving Irish people. 3) In 1997, a group of Irish people walked the Trail of Tears in reverse to honor the Choctaw's generosity from 150 years earlier.