For my Cherokee People and others of the Five Civilized Tribes, Thanksgiving means something more than abundant food and much anticipated football games. For indigenous people, Thanksgiving often means reflecting on our history in this country. Before any of the early European settlers came to what is now known as the United States, indigenous people had been here for thousands of years.

Earlier this month, The American Lawyer named Tyson’s Chief Administrative Officer, Amy Tu, its 2022 “Champion of Diversity.” I was fortunate to join several of my Tyson Foods colleagues in attending the American Lawyer Industry Awards and accept the award on Amy’s behalf. The Champion of Diversity award – given to only one recipient each year – recognizes Amy’s tireless work to “move the needle for underrepresented groups in the legal industry.” 

Jason and his wife, Michelle, adopted Micah – their youngest – from Russia in 2009. It was a long process, Jason says, and much more complicated than he and his wife had anticipated, but they knew they could give a child somewhere a home. “There are 153 million orphans in the world, and our thought process was we can’t help them all, but we can help one, and that started us on our journey.”