Monday, August 25, 2025

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Photo: This street sign was defaced in 2021 in County Tyrone, Ireland. (Courtesy Cllr. Barry Monteith / Facebook)

A number of streets signs in Northern Ireland which include the island’s Indigenous language have been damaged throughout the summer.

And now police are investigating the incidents as “hate crimes,” as Seo McPolin reports.

Several dual-language street signs in the Irish county of Tyrone were damaged or defaced with paint.

Police investigators believe the destruction was motivated by prejudice and could arrest the perpetrators under Northern Ireland’s unique hate crime laws.

The Irish language is also under attack in the country’s courts.

Plans to install signs with the Indigenous language at Belfast’s new Grand Central Station may be cancelled.

Next month, a judge will hear a lawsuit by a far-right activist to stop the new signs.

Both issues will soon be addressed by the country’s first Irish language commissioner, who is expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

This new role is thought to be a litmus test for the British government, which historically discriminated against the language.

For decades, Albuquerque, N.M. locals have been going to the Indian Pueblo Kitchen for Indigenous cuisine.

Starting this week, visitors can get a taste of the Southwest without even leaving the airport.

KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more.

Chef Josh Aragon (Laguna Pueblo) heads the kitchen at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on tribal land in the heart of Albuquerque.

“It’s just a combination of all the Pueblos put together all 19, as a matter of fact, and what comes out of the food is the smiles, the thoughts, the full bellies…”

From frybread and enchiladas to daily hand-baked goods, like Pueblo pies, tortillas and lots of loaves of bread…

“Yesterday, I did three batches, so about 104 [loaves] plus 240 dough balls,” said Rita Toledo.

Toledo (Jemez Pueblo) is the head baker. She now has to prepare even more fresh dishes to feed traveling customers at Albuquerque International Sunport.

“The bread we make, somebody’s gonna take somewhere out of state, that’s exciting.”

Western Michigan University is launching a Native American elders-in-residence program.

The new program is intended to bridge the generational gap between students and Indigenous leaders at the university.

The university received an award from the Native American Heritage Fund for the program called “Sharing Wisdom Across Generations”.

Western’s Native American Affairs Council is consulting with elders and tribal councils of the three Potawatomi nations in Southwest Michigan.

Dr. Dee Sherwood, director of the Native American Affairs Council, says elders have vast knowledge – they may have attended a boarding school, lived on the reservation their whole life, or maybe have experience as a veteran or an entrepreneur. And that the program offers the opportunity to learn from older generations for both Native and non-Native students.

Three elders will hold regular office hours. They’ll also participate in 10 events over the next year, which could range from drum workshops, beadwork, and ribbon skirt making, or talking circles.

Next month, the university will be recognized alongside 10 other educational and community organizations selected for grants by the Native American Heritage Fund.

The clothing brand 4KINSHIP is hosting a youth event next week at the Navajo Nation Fair in Window Rock, Ariz., called “Good Medicine Youth Day.”

During the event, 2,000 skateboards and wellness items will be distributed to families.

The brand helped build a skatepark in a Navajo community with skateboarder Tony Hawk – and has given away thousands of skateboards across the Navajo Nation.

 

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