November is National Native American Heritage Month. It's a time to recognize the many sacrifices, contributions and achievements of Native American people, as well as celebrate their rich and vibrant cultures.
In 1990, President George H.W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November as "National American Indian Heritage Month." Although the name eventually changed, it started an annual tradition upheld in communities across the United States.
For those wanting to participate, here are five ways to honor Native Americans this month - and every month.
Visit a Reservation or Museum
The US holds in trust 56.2 million acres of land for various Indian tribes and individuals, according to the US Department of Indian Affairs. There are approximately 325 reservations.
Not all of them are tourist attractions but rather homes for tribes and communities; it's where they live, work and raise their families. However, some reservations welcome visitors and have even erected museums to educate the wider public about their history and culture.
Read the Work of Native American authors
Support Native-Owned Businesses and Charities
Black Friday is the perfect opportunity. Consider doing some of your shopping with native-owned businesses or even donating to charities. There is a long list of environmental, economic, education, health and rights groups that work to strengthen and empower native communities.
Our Asian-Indian community celebrated Diwali earlier in the month of November. Diwali is a festival of lights and is one of the biggest festivals celebrated in the Indian subcontinent and by Indians all over the globe. The festival usually lasts five days and is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar month of Kartika (between mid-October and mid-November).
I will quote CAPA's Cultural Director, Suman Desaraju - "Happy Diwali from our family to yours! The festival of lights, celebrated by over a billion people worldwide, represents the triumph of good over evil, of light overcoming dark. This has even more significance after the craziness of the past two years."
Amen, Suman!! Our CAPA family wishes all of you who celebrate a very Happy Diwali and we wish everyone a triumph of light over darkness!!
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Annual
Leadership Summit
CAPA hosted more than 145 registrants in our virtual Annual Leadership Summit at the end of October.
The event was a huge success with follow-up webinars requested and planned.
Steve Tobocman, Founder and Executive Director of Global Detroit, kicked the event off with an in-depth look at the current labor gap and the talent shortage in Michigan and how international students can help bridge some of that labor gap - essentially building a Global Michigan.
The information shared in Steve's session could be invaluable to our business partners looking to reinvigorate their recruitment practices to hiring from a more diverse pool of talented candidates...
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Diwali 2021
Diwali or Deepavali is celebrated by members of Hindu, Sikh and Jain faiths around the world.
This year the date is Thursday, November 4th. Diwali the annual “Festival of Lights” symbolizes the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance".
It is a time for friends and families to get together and rejoice. Diwali is also a time to shop for jewelry and fashion in addition to food and fireworks. Governor Gretchen Whitmer delivered a special Diwali video greetings this year. Local temples have organized special events from November 2nd to November 7th.
Canton and Troy, home to a large Asian population, issues special Diwali proclamations. Canton Township also hosted a special Diwali celebration on October 22nd.
Michigan Indian community website has published a special Diwali page to share information.
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SPLENDOR OF THE EAST
Calling all Dancers, Singers, Musicians, and Artists!
The CAPA Cultural Committee is excited to start planning Splendor of the East 2022! As of now, we plan to have the show in-person at a new venue and it will be back better than ever! We are starting our search for dancers, singers, instrumentalists, and all kinds of other talent to showcase.
The show will take place on Saturday, May 14th, 2022 so start assembling your groups now! More information will be coming soon!
If you have any questions, please contact CAPA’s Cultural Director, Suman Desaraju at suman@capa-mi.org
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CAPA Board Elections
CAPA will be electing officers to the board at the December board meeting on December 14th, 2021.
Founded in the year 2001, the Council of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA) is a 501c(3) non-profit and non-partisan organization, whose mission is to unite the Asian Pacific American community with the community at-large through culture, education and community service.
CAPA is governed by a 5 person Executive Board and between 20 and 30 directors who have very diverse professional backgrounds. CAPA also boasts an extremely strong advisory board who guide and counsel the Executive Board and Board of Directors. Directors are expected to attend board meetings and provide their expertise in directing CAPA's activities. Directors are also encouraged to serve on committees, assist in fundraising, and promote public awareness of CAPA and its mission.
Annually, CAPA seeks nominations for vacant board positions to serve a 2-year term with re-nomination possible for a maximum of 2 additional consecutive terms.
We seek individuals from all walks of life who share a strong interest in contributing to society. We strive to form a board that is diverse in terms of occupations, educational backgrounds, racial and ethnic identities, and generations. All service is voluntary.
CAPA is currently seeking board nominations. Those interested are welcome to nominate themselves. If nominations are submitted for someone else, the nominee must be informed and agree to be nominated.
Nominations must be sent to Ryan Rosario, past-President of CAPA and current Nomination Committee Chair at ryan@capa-mi.org before the end of this month (November).
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FILAMCCO SETS STAGE FOR 2021 RIZAL DAY CELEBRATION
Southfield, Mi. November 3, 2021: The Filipino American Community Council (FILAMCCO), the umbrella organization of more than 40 member affiliates, announces its upcoming signature event, the Rizal Day, slated for December 18, 2021, at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. The event dubbed as a historical commemoration and cultural gala carries the theme "A Salute to Frontliners Part 2" the second series from the same title originally named for the organization's "Kalayaan" celebration last June. Rizal Day highlights the traditional honor given Philippine National hero, Dr. Jose Rizal whose struggles and sacrifices to deliver his countrymen from foreign oppression gave them the freedom they enjoy today. The Filipino community celebrates Dr. Rizal's life and legacy annually on his Death Anniversary in December...
For more information contact:
Wilmar Suan, President - 586-883-3037
Dina Keeling, Event Co-Chairperson - (743) 578-1062
Rosemarie Caogas, Event Co-Chairperson - (586) 436-6201
Becky Tungol, Tickets & Reservations - (248) 755-6119
Flor Sitchon, Advertisement - (586) 822-5951
Josie Sanders, Organizational advertisements - (734) 680-4081
Arcie Gemino, Program Director - (586) 214-2597
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Mosaic Leadership
Scholarship Opportunity!
By simply visiting this link to access our free online scholarship application, eligible students have an opportunity to receive $16,000 of scholarship distributed in four consecutive years. Incoming students direct from high school or FTIAC [first time in a college] with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8 and above are eligible to apply.
Students in this program have a 97% retention rate. From the 2021 Winter Term, 19 out of 32 or 59% of scholarship recipients received a term GPA of 3.5 or higher, 7 out of 32 or 22% of scholarship recipients received a term GPA of 4.0...
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Free on-line training opportunity!!
Take 1 hour to learn to intervene as a bystander to stop anti-Asian/American and xenophobic harassment.
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DTE is curious to know what the CAPA community is interested in. What do you want to see from DTE?
Would you like more information on Energy Optimization? Or Residential Programs? Or would you like to be notified when we host Customer Assistance Days?
Is there anything else that DTE can help with? Please respond to president@capa-mi.org with your thoughts and suggestions.
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Some photos displayed provided through istock and not owned by CAPA & affiliates. |
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