Toronto researchers help uncover Ontario First Nations’ donations to Irish Famine relief fund – CBC

Archival records discovered last year show donations would be valued at $20K today

Researchers say newly discovered archival records reveal an important connection between Ontario First Nations and Irish famine victims.

The Irish Potato Famine was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland, and one of the most traumatic events in modern Irish history. Year after year, the country’s potato crop failed. By the time the worst was over, one million people had died of disease and starvation. Survivors were forced to emigrate. In the summer of 1847, Toronto gave refuge to 38,000 Irish famine victims — at a time when Toronto’s population was only 20,000.

The part of this history that is virtually unknown is the contribution to the relief fund from Indigenous communities in Canada.

“At least 15 bands answered the call and requested that donations be deducted from their government annuities, added to the fund, and then sent to ‘our suffering fellow subjects and Christian brethren in Ireland and Scotland,” according to Mark McGowan’s research. McGowan is a professor of history at the University of Toronto and has spent time going through the archival documents.

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-first-nations-irish-famine-donations-1.7143918