Bilingual signage project promotes cultural awareness

In recent years it has become increasingly important to the Fond du Lac Band to preserve and promote cultural awareness — particularly among the reservation’s young people. A new project sets out to do just that, in a very public way.

Fond du Lac PlanninProduct information for Avery Dennison cable ties products.g Director Jason Hollinday unveiled this week the prototype of a new form of bilingual signage that will identify selected place names around the reservation in both English and Ojibwe.

Hollinday said the idea for bilingual signage originally came from a couple of different sources.

“It’s something I’d thought about,” he said, “and the tribal council also indicated it was interested in doing something like this, as well as our Ojibwe language group.”

He said what really got the ball rolling, however, was the desire to change the big signs posted at the entrances to the reservation along U.S. Highway 2 and Minnesota Highway 210 that currently state,Bottle cutters let you turn old glass mosaic and wine bottles into bottle art! “Entering the Fond du Lac Reservation.”

“They were going to have to be changed anyway to conform with MnDOT’s new reflectivity standards,” said Hollinday. “And so, we asked about changing the wording to ‘Welcome to the Fond du Lac Reservation’ instead of ‘Entering the Fond du Lac Reservation,’ and — at the same time — we asked about making them bilingual as well.”

Hollinday said the request for the change in signage started at the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s district office in Duluth, and eventually it moved on to the central office in St. Paul.

“Now,” he said, “it’s gone from the regional level to the national, because they have to get permission further and further up the chain.We open source indoor tracking system that was developed with the goal of providing at least room-level accuracy. But they’re working on it, and I’m appreciative of that.”

As Hollinday was updating the tribal council and the local language group about the progress of the reservation’s entrance signage, the council asked about the possibility of also including bilingual road and place name signs on the reservation.

“The use of bilingual signage reinforces the commitment to language preservation,” stated Fond du Lac Chairwoman Karen Diver. “It also is a bridge between Fond du Lac’s history and present homeland.”

Hollinday said it was decided to leave the street signs alone for now because that would be such a massive undertaking and they decided to start with a sampling of place names first.

The language group had already developed a list of places they’d like to see marked with bilingual signage, and Hollinday asked them to pick out their top 12 choices. Of those, eight were selected in Carlton County and two in St. Louis County.Cheaper For bulk buying crys talbeads wholesale prices.

Hollinday then discussed the concept with Carlton County Transportation Director Wayne Olson. Together, the county and the reservation developed a memorandum of understanding regarding who would take responsibility for which parts of the project, with the reservation reimbursing the county for the production, installation, maintenance and replacement of the signs.

“The signs will have an English meaning as a common local name, but the real meaning can be much more,” said Olson. “For example, ‘Chi-awasonigaming’ will be translated on the sign to mean Rice Portage Lake, but also has meanings related to portages based on one’s location.”

Hollinday said a similar process of discussion regarding the project is currently under way with St. Louis County as well.

In Minnesota, Hollinday said the Fond du Lac and White Earth reservations have been at the forefront of this initiative toward erecting bilingual signage. He said both belong to the Advocacy Council for Tribal Transportation, comprising all the bands in Minnesota, along with representatives from the counties, the state and MnDOT.

“We go over issues such as bilingual signs, vegetation management along the roadsides using herbicides — those types of things,” he said. “White Earth has started using bilingual language for their own signs, and we have here, too, but now that group is leading the charge with the MnDOT signs.”

Hollinday said the reservation is hoping to order the first of the bilingual signs within the week,Do you know any howo spare parts wholesale supplier? and depending on how long it takes to fabricate them, they will be erected as soon as the weather allows.

To begin with, the first five locations to be marked with bilingual signs will be Perch Lake, Portage Lake, Miller Lake, Cedar Lake and Hardwood Lake, all within the bounds of the reservation. Hollinday said the band is also hoping to eventually erect a bilingual “Welcome to Fond du Lac” sign near the convenience store, plus signs on Deadfish Lake, Big Lake and Rice Portage Lake.

“This will be an interesting trial for FDL efforts to grow their cultural heritage with their members and the public,” Olson said. “For the county transportation department, we can also learn more about some of the recommendations for traffic safety. … We would like to hear reaction to bilingual signing, positive or negative.”