[ti:A Stamp of Approval for Skateboarding in America] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]For many years, [00:02.12]skateboarding was considered an activity [00:05.60]for young rebels or drug users [00:09.12]in city streets, schoolgrounds [00:12.12]and public parks. [00:14.24]Those days are long gone. [00:17.48]Skateboarding, which has Indigenous roots [00:21.00]connected to surfing, [00:23.08]is now an Olympic sport. [00:26.40]There are many skateboarding competitions [00:29.04]held across the United States [00:31.60]and other countries. [00:34.56]Recently, skateboarding was honored [00:37.44]with a special recognition: a postage stamp. [00:42.44]The U.S. Postal Service [00:44.64]released the stamps [00:46.40]at a skate park in Phoenix, Arizona. [00:51.00]Four Indigneous artist-skateboarders [00:54.68]created the skateboards [00:56.48]pictured on the postage. [00:59.52]William Zollars, [01:00.96]a member of the USPS Board of Governors, [01:04.72]officiated at the event. [01:07.36]"As an American institution [01:10.36]older than our country itself, [01:13.56]the Postal Service [01:15.32]is always looking for ways to highlight [01:18.32]and honor the stories and histories [01:21.72]that are unique to the United States," [01:25.04]Zollars said. [01:26.60]"We are honored to do that again [01:29.96]through these ‘Art of the Skateboard' [01:32.68]Forever stamps." [01:35.36]Di'Orr Greenwood is one of the artists. [01:38.52]The 27-year-old was born and raised [01:42.92]on the Navajo Nation in Arizona. [01:46.84]She said as a child [01:49.04]she was always getting pushed out of areas [01:52.60]where she would skate. [01:54.52]She noted the sport has come a long way. [01:59.40]"Now it's like being accepted [02:01.92]on a global scale," Greenwood said. [02:05.08]"There's so many skateboarders I know [02:08.40]that are extremely proud of it." [02:11.92]The new stamps calls attention [02:14.68]to the popularity of skateboarding, [02:17.36]especially in Indian Country [02:20.36]where the demand for skate parks is growing. [02:24.84]The artists see the stamp [02:27.16]as a useable art piece [02:29.32]that will be seen across the United States [02:33.08]and around the world. [02:35.88]For her skateboard stamp, [02:38.00]artist Crystal Worl [02:40.16]honored her clan [02:41.80]and her love of the water. [02:45.24]A Sockeye salmon fish [02:47.28]is represented [02:48.80]against a blue and indigo background. [02:53.12]"There are certain designs, [02:55.12]patterns and stories [02:57.08]that belong to certain clans [02:59.80]and you have to have permission [03:02.48]even as an Indigenous person [03:05.16]to share certain stories or designs," Worl said. [03:10.60]The other artists who created stamps [03:13.52]are William James Taylor Jr., [03:16.28]an artist from Virginia, [03:18.64]and Federico "MasPaz" Frum, [03:22.40]a Colombian-born muralist [03:25.16]in Washington, D.C. [03:28.40]The USPS will print 18 million of the stamps. [03:33.52]For the artists, being part of a project [03:37.16]that feels low-tech [03:39.32]in this age of social media is energizing. [03:44.80]"Maybe I'll get a letter in the mail [03:47.40]that someone sent me with my stamp on it," [03:50.88]said the 35-year-old Worl, [03:53.68]who lives in Juneau, Alaska. [03:56.76]"I think that's when it will really hit home [04:00.20]with the excitement of that." [04:02.96]I'm Caty Weaver. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM