The Stream by AASHTO

AASHTO's ETAP Podcast: Native Language Road Signs with Iowa and Minnesota DOTs

Episode Summary

The United States is a country with no national language, and with over 150 Indigenous languages still spoken today. With 5.2 million Indigenous people residing in the US today, speaking these 150+ languages—why aren’t more of our road signs printed in these native languages? Teams from the Iowa and Minnesota Departments of Transportation, along with Indigenous partners set out to change that. Joining us today on the podcast to discuss this project are: Brennan Dolan, the Cultural Resources Team Lead and Tribal Liaison at Iowa DOT; Ed Fairbanks, the retired Tribal Liaison for the Minnesota DOT and Mary Otto, the Tribal State Relations Training Manager in Minnesota DOT’s Office of Tribal Affairs.