They call it “mill talk.”
At least, that’s what Menominee tribal members who don’t work in the tribe’s sawmill call it.
It’s a kind of sign language that mill workers at Menominee Tribal Enterprises use to communicate when heavy, loud machinery is blasting.
No one’s sure how or when it started, but it goes back several generations of millworkers – at least to the early 1900s.
Menominee small sawmill supervisor Charles James said he and other current workers start picking up the sign language on their first day. It’s crucial because the noise on the mill floor is so loud, and other workers use it so comfortably that new workers essentially have to pick it up.
“The [sign language] is something you learn, especially if it’s going to make your job easier,” said Menominee sawmill manager Joshua Besaw.
John Awonohopay, sales manager for Menominee Tribal Enterprises, the company that operates the tribe’s sustainable forestry business, said he believes the sign language is unique to the Menominee sawmill. He’s not aware of workers at other lumber mills in the region, including ones that recently closed down, using a sign language to communicate.
The Menominee sawmill sign language is nothing like American Sign Language, which is promoted by the National Association of the Deaf and embraced by the American Sign Language Teachers Association. Its practitioners are not deaf, and nothing is written down. It’s not based on the Menominee language either.
It’s just something that’s organically understood between sawmill workers.
Some of the signs are obvious, such as pointing to a wrist to ask or alert someone about the time.
Other signs are specific to the job inside the mill, and the goal of producing clean cuts of wood free of defects.
If a piece of wood is starting to wiggle through the blade, workers will signal a specific snaking motion with their arms to the machine operator. If wood debris or wood chips are getting caught in the cutting process and scratching the surface of the wood, workers will conspicuously scratch the backs of their necks.
Other signs indicate the lumber is thick or thin or wedging.
And some signs are meant to be conversational or funny. Workers can talk about what they did last night or over the weekend, what their plans are for upcoming time with their family. They could say they watched a movie with their family, or make plans for fishing on an upcoming Saturday morning.
Awonohopay said one sign is made by making the sign of the cross followed by extending a hand around your belly. That means “Fat Jesus” and is used to describe a millworker who resembles comedic actor Zach Galifianakis when he was called that in the 2009 movie, “The Hangover.”
To outsiders, the workers sign words quickly and efficiently. The communication is indispensable, especially during busy times, with multiple saws working at once and pow wow music blasting through Bluetooth speakers on the work floor.
Workers also said it’s hard to leave their special language behind. They find when they are off work, they often instinctively find themselves using their hands while telling stories.
Unintentionally, they’re revealing a sign of their jobs.
Frank Vaisvilas is a former Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact him at fvaisvilas@usatodayco.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him on X at @vaisvilas_frank.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: For over 100 years, Menominee mill workers have used own sign language
Reporting by Frank Vaisvilas, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
