Jane Dumas
SAN DIEGO–In celebration of American Indian Heritage Month and as part of its ongoing commitment to cultural diversity and responsible banking, Union Bank, N.A. has joined with KPBS to honor two inspirational San Diegans as local heroes.
The 2013 American Indian Heritage Month honorees are: Jane Dumas, a member of the Jamul Band of Kumeyaay Indians and a founder of the San Diego American Indian Health center, and Rose Margaret Orrantia, program manager at the Academy for Professional Excellence’s Tribal STAR (Successful Transitions to Adult Readiness) program at San Diego State University. Both will be recognized with other heritage month honorees during a November celebration in San Diego.
The Local Heroes program recognizes and pays tribute to exemplary leaders who are making a difference by improving their workplace, community, region and the world. The 2013 American Indian Heritage Month honorees share a commitment to their traditions and culture and to improving the lives of Native Americans and their families.
Jane Dumas is a member of the Jamul Band of Kumeyaay Indians and founder of the San Diego American Indian Health center.
Rose Margaret Orrantia
Dumas has been a board member for the Indian Human Resource Center since 1986. She has supported the American Indian Tobacco Education Network (AITEN), the California Indian Basketweavers Association (CIBA), the California Indian Storytellers Association (CISA), and is an active master speaker for the Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival (AICLS). In 2002, she was inducted into the San Diego County Woman’s Hall of Fame and on April 28, 2012, the City of San Diego honored her by proclaiming it Jane Dumas Day.
Rose Margaret Orrantia is the program manager at the Academy for Professional Excellence’s Tribal STAR program at San Diego State University, which aids Native American foster youth in their transitions to adulthood. Ms. Orrantia has served as the executive director of Indian Child and Family Services (ICFS), a state licensed foster family and adoption agency serving the American Indian population in San Diego and Riverside. She participated in a movement of Native American Social Workers advocating for changes in the foster care system that helped shape what became the Indian Child Welfare Act passed in 1978. Orrantia has a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in counselor education.
