PAW PAW (WKZO AM/FM) — It’s not Three Billboards outside of Ebbing Missouri, it’s just one billboard outside of Paw Paw, but like the movie, it pokes at a deeply emotional nerve in that community.
The town has seen billboards promoting pride in their High School mascot, the “Redskins” before. This one defines Redskins as a disparaging and offensive racial slur.
It is being paid for by the “Michigan Coalition against Racism in Sports and Media”, and a reminder that opponents have no plans to drop the issue.
The Native American Heritage fund, a separate group with a similar mission, has just announced their latest grants, funding projects at three state colleges that promote positive relationships and accurate information about the history and role of Michigan’s Indian tribes.
The Grants are going to Bay de Noc Community College in Escanaba, Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie and Michigan Technological University in Houghton.
The Fund was created as part of the latest gaming compact between the State of Michigan and the Notawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi, the owners and operators of the Firekeepers Casino in Calhoun County.
Some of the money they now set aside for public services is dedicated to such programs and purposes and overseen by a board that includes tribal representatives from around the state and some state officials.
