Baraga County TRIAD conference focuses on diversity

BARAGA — Community members in Baraga got a unique chance to learn more about cultural diversity Thursday morning.

Baraga County TRIAD, a group dedicated to developing and implementing crime prevention and education programs for seniors, holds a conference annually to help inform the community about changes in the world and in the community itself. This year’s conference focused on embracing cultural diversity. Two representatives from the Michigan Department of Civil Rights were invited to present on the topic at hand.

“This conference is an opportunity for us to do some outreach and to provide some opportunity of discussion and dialogue regarding cultural competency and the various underrepresented populations,” added Melissa Claramunt, American Indian Specialist and Civil Rights Specialist from the Department of Civil Rights.

“Hopefully after we leave today, we’ve provided a better understanding of the major ethnic groups in Michigan and a more and deeper, richer cultural competence in the group. That’s always our hope when we present this model,” said Charles Schoder, who is also a Civil Rights Specialist from the department.

“Cultures are impacted by people who don’t understand your culture,” said Baraga County TRIAD Chairperson Oedith Harris. “They make fun of it or they shun you, and this is to bring together different cultures and enlighten you on different cultures.”

The speakers explained the role of their department to conference attendees. Visitors also took part in various exercises to take an introspective look at their own cultures and what cultural aspects they identify with.