Cartoon Saloon’s Kindred Spirits Is Rooted in the History Between Choctaw and Irish Communities

Cartoon Saloon‘s Kindred Spirits draws from one of the most enduring stories of solidarity between Choctaw and Irish communities. Directed by Cartoon Saloon co-founder, Tomm Moore, and co-written by Shelley Dennis, a Choctaw writer whose credits include Spirit Rangers and The Conners, this animated feature is rooted in a history that has remained alive across oceans and generations.

Kindred Spirits follows “Mara, an Irish refugee child alone in New York in 1847, and Tushka, a Choctaw boy far from the warmth of his family. When their paths cross, the two set out on a journey shaped by adventure, magic, and loss, watched over by Mara’s brother Dan, who cannot accept his own passing into the spirit realm. As they search for people to call family and a place to call home, Kindred Spirits explores the historic bond between the Irish and Choctaw nations through a story grounded in grace, compassion, and humanity.”

The bond between the Choctaw and Irish people began in 1847, when the Choctaw people sent aid to Ireland during the Great Famine. They donated $170 (equivalent to $6,629.98 today), which was pretty significant given it was only sixteen years after the Choctaw had endured removal, starvation, and death during the Trail of Tears. It was a powerful gesture of empathy and recognition between two peoples devastated by colonial violence. More than 175 years later, that act is still remembered and honored in both communities through official visits, scholarship support for Choctaw Students, pandemic-era fundraising from Irish donors for Native communities, memorials, and monuments, including the Kindred Spirits sculpture in Cork, Ireland.

One such gathering is scheduled for March 13-14, 2026. The Choctaw-Irish Friendship Festival will be held at the Choctaw Cultural Center in Durant, Oklahoma, running from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The festival will feature Celtic harp and fiddle music, dancing, storytelling, Irish and Choctaw vendors, stickball, and workshops. A silent auction of handcrafted work by Choctaw artists will also run from March 10 through 14, with proceeds supporting educational initiatives.

The history between the Choctaw and Irish communities has also started to appear more visibly outside our communities and media. In Sinners, Ryan Coogler folds Choctaw and Irish histories into the film’s larger themes of colonization, memory, and survival. The Choctaw vampire hunters are only onscreen for a few minutes. Still, for those familiar with the history between the Irish and Choctaw, you instantly understand the connection and why Remmick first tried to get what he wanted from their community. Remmick is not a stand-in for Irish people, but for the destructive force that trauma and colonialism leave behind. Their pursuit of Remmick is not a rejection of the bond between the Choctaw and Irish, but a refusal to allow colonial violence, in this case, to literally keep feeding across generations.

It is this connection and history that make Kindred Spirits especially notable, because not only is it daring to showcase a long-ignored part of our history, but it also gives more authentic Native representation in an industry where our stories and visibility are still limited.

We’ve made progress in animation with Native stories and characters through shows like Molly of Denali and Spirit Rangers, but there are still too few examples. Because animation reaches children so early, it plays a vital role in shaping their worldviews and expectations for how they should treat others as human beings. An animated film centered on Irish and Choctaw histories has the opportunity to give audiences a fuller sense of the histories they carry and the realities they have endured, especially if the work remains rooted in the communities behind it. That starts with the people guiding the story and shaping how it is told.

As news of the Kindred Spirits spread through the media, NDN Country asked, “Are there any Choctaw or Native people involved?” Thankfully, and for once, the answer was, “YES!” I was excited to see Dennis’s involvement because Native representation is never only about who appears onscreen. It’s about who owns and structures the narrative, shapes its truth, and knows when a script slips into stereotype instead of authenticity. Choctaw artist Waylon Gary White Deer and Cherokee storyboard artist Morgan Thompson were also brought on by Cartoon Saloon to shape the film’s visual development. Cartoon Saloon’s co-founder, Tomm Moore, has described the production as one that shifts visually as the characters move across different places, incorporating artistic influences tied to the nations and homelands they encounter.

This is why White Deer’s involvement feels especially significant. A Choctaw artist, author, and educator who has lived in Ireland, his work already reflects the long relationship between the Choctaw and Irish communities. He has been part of projects commemorating the 1847 donation and has spoken about the resonance between Irish history and Choctaw history. Bringing that perspective into the film suggests a production that understands cultural specificity cannot be added at the end as an afterthought. It has to be part of the structure from the beginning.

Kindred Spirits is still in development, with plenty of ground to cover before it reaches the screen. But it has real potential given the strength of the history it draws from, the Native creatives helping shape it, and the fact that the Choctaw-Irish relationship remains active and meaningful today, reflected in festivals, memorials, educational efforts, and artistic collaborations.

In a media landscape that still sidelines Native history or reduces it to tragedy, there is a power, beauty, and healing in a project that begins with Choctaw generosity and its impact on past, current, and future generations. As someone who loves animation and absolutely adores Wolfwalkers and The Secret of Kells, this Choctaw is extremely excited about the direction Cartoon Saloon is taking with Kindred Spirits.