At Home and Abroad

Shannon Lambert-Ryan graduated from Muhlenberg College in Allentown in 2003 with a double major in History and Theater and a minor in Music. For several years, she worked as an actor in theater and film productions, including the Arden Theatre Company’s “Sweeney Todd,” Brian Friel’s “Translations” with the Irish Repertory Theatre of Philadelphia and M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Village.” She is a co-founder of the Celtic-Folk Group RUNA. RUNA performs a mixture of original, traditional, and contemporarily written music within the band. Generally, speaking, they play about two-thirds Irish or Scottish-based songs and tunes and one-third a combination of folk, contemporary, bluegrass and swing. They have been out on the road since the end of January, performing shows in Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. They also spent a few days in New Orleans recording some new music videos and a few days in Oklahoma meeting and collaborating with members of the Choctaw Nation on an upcoming project. A sculpture honoring the relationship between the Choctaw Nation and the people of Ireland will soon be erected on the Choctaw Capitol grounds in Tuskahoma, Oklahoma. The project is funded jointly by the Choctaw Nation and the Government of Ireland. The piece, titled “Eternal Heart,” was selected after a call for submissions was initiated last year. Samuel Stitt, of Spokane Valley, Washington, a member of the Choctaw Nation, submitted the winning entry. “Eternal Heart” combines a Celtic trinity shape intertwined with a heart. “There is no beginning or end to the overall piece – thus, it is eternal,” Stitt said. The sculpture will have a very specific orientation, with the heart – representing the Choctaw Nation – facing toward Ireland. March marked the 177th anniversary of the Choctaw people mustering a gift of $170 to ease suffering of the Irish during the potato famine. The gift was even more significant due to the Choctaws having just completed their trek on the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma. The sculpture display will include an informational sign and winding path. “All the elements are symbolic and created with specific references in mind,” Stitt said. The concrete base for the 8-foot-tall piece is edged with diamond shapes, a Choctaw symbol of reverence to the diamondback snake. The sculpture will sit atop a mound, honoring the heritage of mound-building of the Choctaw ancestors as well as the ancient “hill forts” and mounds found in Ireland. Even the winding footpath represents the Trail of Tears, with the exact orientation mirroring the arduous route from the Mississippi homelands to Indian Country. In 2017, a 20-foot statue called Kindred Spirits, composed of nine stainless steel eagle feathers reaching over 20 feet in height, arranged in a circle to represent a bowl of food, was dedicated in Midleton, County Cork, Ireland, to forever commemorate the donation. made by the Choctaw Nation and the bond the two nations now hold. “We became kindred spirits with the Irish in the years since the Irish Potato Famine,” Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton said after the unveiling.