The Choctaw Indians donated money for famine assistance in Ireland in 1847, which served as the basis for the relationship.

The government and the Chahta Foundation jointly commissioned the sculpture, named Eternal Hearts.

It is an addition to the sculpture Kindred Spirits, which was dedicated in 2017 in Midleton, County Cork, to celebrate the Irish version of The Gift.

Samuel Stitt, a native member of the Choctaw Nation, sculpted the new 2.45-meter-tall monument, which is orientated directly towards Ireland and has a Celtic trinity form entwined with a heart.

"There is no beginning or end to the overall piece - thus, it is eternal," said Mr Stitt.



The Choctaw Tribe raised the aid funds in 1847, which were ultimately utilised to alleviate the Midleton famine.

The tribe was relocated to a reservation in what is now Oklahoma just a few years prior to The Trail of Tears, which entailed their expulsion from ancestral territories in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana in the 1830s.

The Choctaws, who were living in abject poverty, received $170 (which is now almost $5,000 or €4,000) from a visiting US government official who told them of the famine in Ireland.

Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton remarked, "We are grateful for the giving hearts of our Choctaw ancestors that brought us here today," during a ceremony held in the council chamber in Tuskahoma.

"We are excited to see what this eternal bond will bring to future generations of Choctaw and Irish and we are extremely proud to call the people of Ireland our friends and kindred spirits."