Bilingual Sign on Madeline Island

Bilingual "No Life Guard on Duty" sign (English and Ojibwemowin) on Madeline Island in Wisconsin
No Lifeguard Sign, Big Bay City Park

On Madeline Island, one of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior, public signs are now written in English and Ojibwemowin. While the Objibwe who encounter these signs are sure to read English and don’t need the translation, the signs signal respect and remind those of us whose families were immigrants of who was here first.