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Boreal Community Media

How dual-language highway signs will revive native languages 'in crisis mode'

Jan 05, 2023 10:29AM ● By Content Editor
Photo: The state Department of Transportation installed a dual-language highway sign that marks the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin's reservation boundaries. Photo Courtesy of Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. 

By Gaby Vinick - WPR News - December 30, 2022

In a partnership with 11 federally recognized tribes, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the state Department of Transportation is installing highway signs in English and native languages. The dual-language signs are already in place in some Wisconsin communities.

The first was installed in November last year with the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Since then, signs have been put in place in the Oneida Nation, in Menominee communities, and in the Sokaogon Chippewa Community. The highway signs identify communities in tribal areas and reservation boundaries. 


To read the full story, visit the Wisconsin Public Radio News site here. 

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