Evidence of a historical signed lingua franca among North American Indians

Evidence ?f a Bistorical Signed Lingua

Franca among North American Indians I

Jeffrey Davis

KeyWords

Deaf Worlds Submitted 03/06105

2005 I vol 21 (3) Accepted 22111/05

Forest Books © ISSN 1362-3125

Aboriginal and Indigenous Sign Language; Anthropological and Historical

linguistics; Lingua Franca; Plains Indian Sign Language; Primary and

Alternate Signed Languages.

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to bring attention to the historical documentation

of sign language among North American Indians. 2 During the 19th and early

part of the 20th centuries, indigenous sign language appears to have been so

widespread that scholars of this time period considered it to be a lingua franca.

In other words, signing was used within and between indigenous groups, who

did not otherwise share a common spoken language. Previous documentation

was made by some of the first ethnologists and anthropologists to do field

work with Native American Indian groups (most notably, Boas 1890, Mallery

1880), before there was a decline in the use of indigenous sign language. The

previously collected documentary materials showed that sign language was

1 I am extremely grateful to numerous individuals who have inspired and encouraged me to

write this paper. Thanks to Ellis Bacon for reading and discussing the contents of this paper

on numerous occasions, and providing me a place to write up in the Great Smoky Mountains

of Tennessee. A note of gratitude goes to the Elders of the Intertribal Deaf Council for

maintaining the Circle and inviting others to participate; and especially James Woodenlegs

(Northern Cheyenne), and Melanie McKay-Cody (Cherokee 1 Choctaw) for sharing the

legacy of PSL, along with their immeasurable wisdom and wit.

s

4-7

48 DW(21 )3:2005 • Evidence of a Historical Signed Lingua Franca among North American Indians

used among North American Indians for a variety of discourse purposes.

Apparently, sign language was used even when deaf people were not present,

but it was also learned as a first language by some deaf members of these

native communities. This paper considers the traditional use and

contemporary status of these sign language varieties, and sheds light on this

little known and often overlooked part of Native American heritage.

Biography Jeffrey Davis has worked as an interpreter, teacher, and researcher in the

fields of signed language linguistics and deaf studies for the past thirty years.

He holds Masters and PhD degrees in Linguistics. He began his university

teaching career in 1983 at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, where

he taught until 1990; he then served on the faculties of the University of

Arizona (1990 - 1994) and Miami-Dade Coll~ge (1994 - 2000). Davis

joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee in 2000, where he is an

Associate Professor in the Educational Interpreting Program, Department of

Theory and Practice in Teacher Education. In addition to interpreting in the

field and conducting research, he teaches ASL Linguistics and Interpretation

courses. His research involves the linguistics of ASL, interpretation and

translation processes, and the study of historical and contemporary sign

language among members of some American Indian groups.

Overview In addition to being one of the primary languages in Deaf communities,

signed languages have been used among hearing indigenous communities

around the world as alternatives to spoken languages. Elaborated forms of

signed communication have been documented and described in some

2 Various terms are used in the literature to refer to the aboriginal peoples of the Americas.

Members of these cultural groups that many consider the First Nations, generally call

themselves American Indians. North American Indian is sometimes necessary to distinguish the

indigenous peoples of North America from those of Central and South America. The

historical linguistic documents that are the focus of the present study do not include the

signed language varieties that have been reported for Central or South American indigenous

populations. Specific tribal afTiliations and cultural-linguistic groups are acknowledged

whenever possible - e.g., Assiniboine, Blackfoot, Eastern Cherokee, Inuit, Lakota, Northern

Cheyenne, etc.

1 I

Jeffrey Davis· DW(21)3:2005 49

Aboriginal groups of Central Australia, and among Indigenous communities

of North and South Amerid. 3 This linguistic phenomenon also has been

evident to varying degrees within some occupational settings and monastic

traditions. The use of sign language within and between both Deaf and non

deaf communities around the world has been documented - even when deaf

individuals were ndt present (see for example, Davis & Sup alIa 1995,

Farnell 1995, Johnson 1994, Kendon 1988, Kelly & McGregor 2003, Plann

1997, Umiker-Sebeok & Sebeok 1978). This was particularly true for the

native groups in North America that are the focus of this paper.

The North American continent was once an area of extreme linguistic

and cultural diversity with frequent contact between groups speaking

distinct and mutually unintelligible languages. Historically, signing between

and within indigenous groups of North America has been well documented.

Over many generations, signed language appears to have emerged as a way

to make communication possible between individuals speaking so many

different mother tongues. This was observed and documented in numerous

accounts including extensive fieldwork conducted by 19th century

ethnologists and anthropologists. Most notably, Boas 1890 and Mallery

1880, who were among the first scholars to do ethnographiC fieldwork with

native groups of the Americas. 4

Apparently, signing was so widespread among North American Indian

groups that earlier scholars considered it a lingua franca - that is, sign

language was used among numerous indigenous groups, who did not

otherwise share a common language. Papers describing the distinctive

features of the conventionalized signed language used among American

Indians were published by researchers who helped establish the discipline of

anthropological linguistics (Kroeber 1958, Voegelin 1958, West 1960).5

Reportedly, the more nomadic groups were the best signers; dialect

differences did not seriously hinder communication; signing was not limited

1 Aboriginal or indigenous are synonymous terms and refer to the original or "native"

inhabitants, before foreign immigration and colonization. In this article, these terms are used

interchangeably depending on the historical or geographical context and source being cited.

4 Boas and Mallery, helped establish and served terms as presidents of learned societies of

their time (for example, Linguistic Society of America, American Philosophical Society, and

American Anthropological Society). Mallery was credited as one of the first scholars of his

time to use the term "semiotics" (Umiker-Sebeok & Seheok 1978).

50 DW (21 )3:2005 • Evidence of a Historical Signed Lingua Franca among North American Indians

to intertribal ceremonial occasions; and also was used in storytelling and

conversation within groups speaking the same language (Mithun

1999:293). The traditional signing used by some Native American groups

appears to be distinct from American Sign Language (ASL) and is now

known primarily by hearing elders and by some Deaf members of these

groups, due in large part to its replacement by English as a lingua franca

(Farnell 1995, Mithun 1999, McKay-Cody 1997).

Aims of this Paper The focus of this paper is the historical documentation of sign language

among North American Indians during the 19th and early part of the 20th

centuries. The legacy of historical documentary materials in the form of

written texts, lexical descriptions, illustrations, and motion pictures is

critical to preservation, further scholarship, and language revitalization of

sign language among North American Indian groups. One of the chief aims

of this paper is to bring attention and provide wider access to these

documentary materials so that various levels of the languages involved can be

studied and described. The research conducted to date and the previously collected documentary

materials indicate that sign language was used in varying degrees as an

independent communication system within most of the language families

indigenous to North America (Campbell 1997, Mithun 1999). This paper

reviews the research literature on this subject and documentary materials

from archival sources, including early anthropological linguistic descriptions.

These early ethnographic and linguistic descriptions of sign language among

American Indian groups informed the research of some of the first linguists

to study ASL (e.g., Stokoe 1960, 1972, Battison 197812003). However, the

same biases that delayed the recognition and academic acceptance of ASL as

5 Kroeber and Voegelin each also served terms as president of the Linguistic Society of

America, were considered pioneers in the field of anthropological linguistics, and developed

classification systems for the Native American languages. Kroeber's 1958 paper, followed by a

two volume PhD dissertation written by one ofVoegelin's students West (1960) were the first

to describe the conventionalized signs used by Indians in terms of distinctive features, similar

to the sounds of spoken language. The research on Indian sign language is reflected in the

seminal research of some of the first Signed language linguists (e.g., Stokoe, 1960, 1972;

Battison 1978/2003).

T i


a distinct language have contributed to the oversight and neglected study of

sign language among Nativ~ American groups (see Baynton 1996, 2002).

There has been a general lack of understanding about the nature and structure

of indigenous signed language, even though it has been observed and reported

from the 1500s until today.

Documenting Endangered Languages Crystal (2000) estimates that at least half of the world's six to seven thousand

currently used human languages are endangered. These endangered languages

constitute irreplaceable treasures, not only to the communities who speak or

sign them, but also for scientists and scholars. Like many American Indian

languages and cultural traditions, the sign language varieties historically used

among numerous North American indigenous groups are currentlr

endangered. Since the late 1800s, social, cultural and historical factors have

caused the number of native users of traditional American Indian sign

language to dramatically decrease. Along with the decline of native languages

and cultures, came the loss of signed language that was once a widely used

alternate to spoken language, and a traditional way of storytelling. The role

of a signed lingua franca has been replaced by English, which means that fewer

hearing Indians are learning the traditional ways of signing. The decline of sign

language among native groups also contributes to the marginalization and

isolation of tribal members who are Deaf. (See Goff-Paris & Wood 2002 and

Miller 2004 to read more about the experiences of Native American Indians

who are Deaf.)

Some researchers have suggested that the varieties of sign language used

among Native American groups are endangered (Davis in press, Farnell 1995,

Kelly & McGregor 2003, McKay-Cody 1997). Though greatly diminished,

varying degrees of sign language use among some American Indian groups has

been observed today. Several tribes incorporate the traditional sign language

as a part of language and cultural education programs. Before describing

these cases and pointing readers to the linguistic corpus that is the basis for

this paper, it will be useful to survey the literature about other cases around

the world where both deaf and hearing members used sign language and

provide historical background information about the North American native

communities where sign language traditionally has been used.

~ .


(Communities Where Everyone Signed Historically and contemporarily, there have been indigenous communities

in which both deaf and hearing members used sign language. In addition to

the reported cases on the North American continent, signed

communication has been observed among aboriginal communities in other

geographic locations - such as parts of South America and Australia. A

similar linguistic phenomenon has been evident within some occupational

settings and monastic traditions. (For more detailed accounts of these

cases, see Branson, Miller, & Marsaja 1996, Davis & Sup all a 1995, Johnson

1994, Kendon 1988, 2002, Kelly & McGregor 2003, Plann 1997, Umiker

Sebeok & Sebeok 1978, 1987).

The propensity for indigenous peoples to develop highly elaborated sign

c?mmunication systems as alternatives to spoken language and for a variety

of discourse purposes has been well documented. Indigenous communities

in which both deaf and hearing members use sign have been reported in

Chican, a traditional Yucatec Maya community in the state of Yucatan in

Mexico (Johnson 1994); Providence Island about 150 miles east of

Nicaragua (Washabaugh 1986); in Central America among the I{'iche' and

Kaqchikel of Guatemala, and in South America among the Urubu, a Tupi

Guarani language community in the state of Maranhao, Brazil (Campbell

1997). Perhaps the best known sociocultural-historical account of sign use

by both deaf and hearing members of a community in North America was

the case of "English-Sign bilingualism" that existed on Martha's Vineyard,

Massachusetts from the 17th - 19th centuries (Groce 1985). Sebeok and

Umiker-Sebeok (1978) provide the most detailed account of aboriginal sign

language use in the Americas and Australia. There are critical distinctions

between these ways of signing and other kinesthetic forms of communication

- e.g., gesticulation or pantomine. Similar to studying other types of

language contact phenomenon it is useful to consider these varieties of

L signing along a continuum, or several multidimensional continua.

Kendon's Continuum

Scholars from the emergent field of gesture studies distinguish several forms

of communication that are generally called "gestures." McNeill (1992)

considered four types of gesture along a continuum of - "gesticulation,"

,.


"pantomine," "emblem," and "sign language" based on Kendon (1982). Each

of these types can be furtherlanalyzed and subdivided into separate continua.

According to McNeill (2000:6) "gesticulation accompanies speech" and "is

non-conventionalized." This is distinguished from the signs in a signed

language which "like words in speech, are conventionalized, segmented, and

analytic, and possessed oflanguage properties, while they are obligatorily not

performed with speech". Thus, McNeill correlates the presence or absence

of speech with gesture, with the absence or presence of conventional

linguistic properties. "Emblems are at an intermediate position ... partly like

gesticulations, partly like signs." McNeill emphasizes "the non-linguistic

character of these gestures: the lack of a fully contrastive system and the lack

of syntactic potential" (original emphasis, 1992:6).

Kendon (1988) studied sign language as an alternate means of

communication among the hearing aborigines of Central Australia, and

proposed that the sign language of deaf communities be called "primary sign

language" and the sign language of people already competent in spoken

language be called "alternate sign language." Kendon did not study the

signing of deaf aborigines, and more studies are needed to determine the

outcomes of signed language acquisition if a deaf child is born into a situation

in which sign is used as an alternative to speech by hearing members of the

community. More recently, Senghas and Monaghan (2002:74) have

described the distinctions between "natural sign languages (i.e., sign

languages not consciously invented), artificial sign languages, gesture, and homesign."

Taxonomy of Sinned Communication

Along these lines, Davis & Supalla (1995) conducted extensive ethnographic

fieldwork in a Navajo (Dine) community where both Deaf and hearing

members used a variety of signed language distinct from ASL. This was

reminiscent of what historically had occurred on Martha's Vineyard from

the 1600s - 1900s, when most of the inhabitants of the island regardless of

hearing status reportedly used sign language (Groce 1985). Based on work

with this Navajo community, and Kendon's research with hearing aboriginal

signing communities, Davis and Supalla (1995:83-85) proposed a

"Taxonomy of Signed Communication Systems:"


1) primary signed languages that have evolved within specific

historical, social, and cultural contexts and that have been used

across generations of signers (e.g., ASL, French Sign Language,

British Sign Language, etc.)

2) alternate sign systems developed and used by individuals who are

already competent in spoken language (e.g., the highly elaborated

and complex sign system used historically by the Plains Indians of

North America)

3) home sign systems that are gestural communication systems

developed when deaf individuals are isolated from other deaf

people and need to communicate with other hearing people around

them (Frishberg 1987, Morford 1996)

4) gestures that accompany spoken language discourse (Kendon

2004, McNeill 2000).

Davis and Supalla noted some overlap between these categories. For

example, the "alternate sign systems" used by hearing Indians became a

"primary signed language" when acquired natively by deaf Indian~. The

linguistic evidence suggests that "alternate signs" are used to varying degrees

of proficiency ranging from signs that accompany speech, to signing without

speech, to signing that functions similarly to "primary signed language."

Again it should be emphasized that, like other cases of linguistic variation,

these "ways of signing" are best considered according to a theoretical

framework of multidimensional continua.

When an Alternate Sinn Lannuane becomes Primary

In a study of traditional and contemporary Plains Indian signing among

native groups, McKay-Cody (1997) found patterns consistent with those

identified earlier by Davis and Supalla (1995). McKay-Cody described what

happened when the alternate sign language traditionally used by hearing

members of the Plains cultural groups was acquired as a primary sign

language by members of the group who are deaf. The deaf members of

these native groups "seem to gain a higher level of proficiency" when

compared to members who are hearing (1997: 50). These findings suggest

that the alternate sign language becomes linguistically enriched when

Jeffrey Davis' DW(21)3:2005 55

learned as a primary language by members of these native communities who are deaf.

The research evidence from these studies (Davis & Supalla 1995, McKay

Cody 1997) suggested that "alternate signs" are used to varying degree~ of

proficiency ranging from signs that accompany speech, signing without

speech, and signing that· functions similar to the "primary signed languages" of

Deaf communities - especially when used cross-generationally within a

linguistic community for a variety of discourse purposes. Another distinction

is that primary sign systems are developed, acquired, and used by deaf people

as a first language, whereas alternate sign systems are developed, transmitted,

and used by hearing individuals already competent in a spoken language. In

contrast to primary sign systems that are used across a wide range of functions

and domains, alternate sign systems may have more restricted functions and

limited domains of use. Despite these differences, both primary and alternate

sign systems do nonetheless share some important linguistic properties - e. g.,

both systems are rule-governed and conventionalized (Umiker-Sebeok &

Sebeok 1978, Voegelin 1958, West 1960).

Further data-driven and comparative research of the development and

use of sign language within native communities, and between deaf and

hearing individuals from these groups is needed.

The Linguistic and Cultural Diversity of Native North America Much has been written about the consequential clash of cultures that occurred

follOwing massive European immigration and colonization of the Americas (or

'invasion' as it came to be considered by the Indians). Previously, the North

American continent was an area of extreme linguistic and cultural diversity

with hundreds of distinct and mutually unintelligible languages spoken among

the native populations. Mithun (1999: 1) points out that "while the languages

of Europe are classified into just three families, Indo-European, Finno-Ugric,

and Basque, those of North America constitute over SO." Goddard (1979,

1996) and Wurtzburg & Campbell (1995) have published papers about the role

served by signed languages and some spoken native languages as lingua francas,

and have discussed the pidgins, trade languages and "mixed" systems used

among Native American groups. Each of these topics warrant further

investigation, but are beyond the scope of the present paper.

56 OW (21 )3:2005 • Evidence of a Historical Signed Lingua Franca among North American Indians

Based on the major published literature (e.g. Campbell 1997, Mithun

1999) this paper aims to provide an interdisciplinary and international

audience with a broad introduction to the historical linguistic contexts,

geographic locations, cultural areas, and native groups where sign language

traditionally and contemporarily has emerged. This includes a review of the

previous research literature on this subject and a survey of the extensive

documentary materials from archival sources, including early

anthropological linguistic descriptions. These documentary materials and

previously published descriptions show that sign language was used in

varying degrees as an independent communication system within most of

the language families indigenous to North America (Kroeber 1958, Voegelin

1958, West 1960).

The Earliest Historical Accounts From the 16th to the 19th centuries, numerous descriptive accounts of

American Indians signing were written by early European explorers who

spent years in the area and colonizers who settled in North America

(Mithun 1999). The earliest known descriptions of the Indians signing come

from the 1527 Spanish expedition to Florida and were written by Alvar

Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, who reported numerous occasions of native groups

signing with each other. Pedro de Castenenda made similar descriptions

during the Coronado expedition of 1541-42, and subsequent reports

continued into the 18th century (Wurtzburg & Campbell 1995).

In earlier times, the varieties of indigenous sign language specific to

North America were named in various ways - e.g., Plains Indian Sign

Language, Indian Sign Language, The Sign Language, etc. "Hand talk" was

the way that some American Indian groups commonly referred to sign

language (Tomkins 1926). A generally accepted hypothesis among scholars

(cf. Goddard 1979, Taylor 1978, Wurtzburg & Campbell 1995) is that sign

language among native groups originated and spread from the Gulf Coast

region, and became the intertribal lingua franca of the Great Plains cultural

areas, and spread throughout the northwest territories of the u.S. and

Canada.

JcffrcyOavis·OW(21)3:2005 57

Plains Indian Sign Language Historically, sign language u.e in varying degrees has been dqcumented

among the members from one dozen distinct North American language

families (Clark 1885, Scott 1934, Kroeber 1958, Mallery 1880, Voegelin

1958, West 1960). The best documented cases involved members of the

Plains Indian cultural and linguistic groups. Generally, twelve major

geographic cultural areas of Native North America have been identified in

the literature with the Plains cultural area centrally located to all of these

(cf. Campbell 1997, Mithun 1999). Waldman (2000: 32 - 33) points out

that the modern cultural areas "are not finite and absolute boundaries, but

_ simply helpful educational devices" and "that tribal territories were often

vague and changing, with great movement among the tribes and the passing

of cultural traits from one area to the next; and that people of the same

language family sometimes lived in different cultural areas, even in some

instances at opposite ends of the continent."

The Great Plains cultural area was an enormous geographic expanse that

stretched north to south for more than two thousand miles from the North

Saskatchewan River in Canada to the Rio Grande in Mexico. The east-west

boundaries were approximately the Mississippi-Missouri valleys and the

foothills of the Rocky Mountains and encompassed an area of some one

million Isquare miles. The following map illustrates the major cultural areas

of native North America referenced in this paper.

These culture areas show the major geographic areas where native groups

shared a similar culture and history. These geographic boundaries are based

on numerous sociQ-cultural, linguistic and historical variables; and do not

imply that there are only a few sharp distinct ways of life in the continent. As

stated in the Handbook if North American Indians 4: viii (1988) "in reality, each

group exhibits a unique combination of particular cultural features, while all

neighboring peoples are always similar in some ways and dissimilar in others."

Traditionally, Plains Indian Sign Language (PSL, hereafter) is used within

the Plains cultural and linguistic groups of the USA and Canada (Gordon

2005). Previously documented at every level of social interaction, PSL was

used as a widespread medium of communication between members from

distinct language groups. Although greatly diminished from its widespread

use across the Great Plains in former times, PSL has not vanished. According


Source: Culture Areas of North America, Handbook of North

American Indians 4: ix (W.E. Washburn, ed. 1988). Courtesy of the

Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.

to Ethnologue: Languages if the World, 15th Edition (Gordon 2005), PSL is

considered distinct from ASL that is used in Deaf communities of the USA

and Canada. Today, PSL is used within some native groups in storytelling,

rituals, legends, prayers, and by American Indians who are deaf.


Previous Linauistic Description and Ethnoaraphic Documentation

Early anthropological linguis_ic field research indicates that sign language

was used in varying degrees as an independent communication system

within most of the language families of native North America (Kroeber

1958, Voegelin 1958, West 1960). Kroeber, Voegelin, and West were the

first scholars to desGribe the distinctive features of the Plains Indian sign

lexicon in terms of shapes of the hand(s), the areas in which a gesture is

made (points of articulation), and the direction and nature of motion

involved. Handshape features were described as open, closed, fingers

extended, straight, curved, etc. Different points on the body were

considered places of articulation. The movement patterns of the hands were

described in detail (e.g. up, down, left, right, repeated, straight lines,

curves, circles, etc.) and included one hand acting alone, one stationary and

the other active, with both hands moving parallel or interacting.

Voegelin and West also developed an elaborate transcription system and

"phonemic-like" inventory for PSL. This remains in dissertation form, but

represents a substantive contribution to the study of signed languages. In

addition to the structural properties and production of sign, these early

anthropological linguists carefully examined the lexicon, semantics, and

possible origins of the system. Additional linguistic descriptions are long

overdue. ISince West's dissertation, there has been only one published linguistic

analysis of American Indian Sign language (Newell 1981). Newell provided a

stratificational description ofPSL, and supported Kroeber's earlier observation

that "whereas writing systems such as Chinese or Hieroglyphics are alternate

expression systems of a single communication system, sign language is an

independent communication system in its own right" (1981: 189). (See West

1960, Mithun 1999, and Newell 1981 for further linguistic descriptions).

The Lanauaae Corpus

A corpus of PSL documentary materials forIps the basis for the linguistic

descriptions presented in this paper. Documentary materials retrieved from

archival sources reveal that regardless of hearing status, signing was used by

members from approxjmately thirty-seven distinct American Indian cultural

and linguistic groups (Davis, in press, McKay-Cody 1997, Minthun 1999,

Umiker-Sebeok & Sebeok 1978). Certainly signing may have been used by


even more groups than these, but at least this many cases were historically

documented. By the turn of the 20th century, however, a dramatic decline in

sign language use among native groups was evident, largely due to its

replacement by English as a lingua franca.

Education Policy and the Demise of Native Language and Culture The documentary evidence suggests that the use of a signed lingua franca

continued well into the early 20th century. However, during the late nineteenth

and early twentieth centuries in the United States and Canada (mainly in

Northwestern and Southwestern regions) residential Indian schools were

established by state, provincial, and federal governments; and by religious.

organizations in some cases. It became common practice for Indian children

and adolescents to be systematically removed from their families and placed in

these residential educational institutions. The official educational policy during

this period was "cultural and linguistic assimilation." This translated into loss of

many native ways, including the loss of native language and culture for many

Indian children. Indian children were taught English on!Jr and in most cases

were forbidden to follow or practice their cultural traditions.

Along with the dramatic decline of native languages and cultures, came the

loss of the signed lingua franca that was once an alternative to spoken

language. There is a paradox between the linguistic and cultural outcomes of

residential Indian Schools and Schools for the Deaf that were established

during the same historical period (primarily during post Civil War

reconstruction). Ironically, residential Schools for the Deaf became a primary

means for sign language acquisition and enculturation; whereas in contrast

Indian Schools led to the tragic demise of native language and no less than

cultural genocide in many cases. (For additional socio-cultural and historical

perspectives about the historical use, or non-use of sign language for

instructional purposes, see Baynton 1996, 2002, and Plann 1997).

Lanouaoe Revitalization

Thus, a variety of social, cultural, and educational factors caused to the

indigenous population of native and secondary users of sign language to

dramatically decrease. However, as testimony to its resiliency, there is


evidence that PSL is still in use today among both hearing and Deaf American

Indians from various geographic locations where a signed lingua franca once

flourished (Davis in press, Farnell 1995, Kelly & McGregor 2003, McKay

Cody 1997). The rich legacy of illustrations, descriptions, and motion pictures

that documented the varieties of sign language used among North American

Indians is essential to language revitalization. These documentary materials

make it possible for this historical sign language variety to be reintroduced to

the communities where it once thrived. For example, some of the current

activities of the Intertribal Deaf Council are conducted in traditional PSL and

the language is gradually being re-introduced to Native American Deaf

communities through these gatherings (website provided below).

The Spectrum of Discourse

An examination of the historical documentary materials show that sign

language was uS,ed for additional purposes besides as an intertribal lingua

franca between different linguistic groups or as a way to communicate with

European colonizers. For example, sign language was used within and

between American Indian groups for some of the follOWing discourse

purposes:

•

•

Story-telling (including a variety of narratives and genres)

Gender and age specific activities (most documentation involved

male tribal chiefs, medicine men, and elders; however, descriptions

and illustrations of woman signing have been identified)

During times when speech was difficult or considered taboo

(during hunting activities or mourning the death of someone)

Chanting, praying, and other ritual practices.

The richest sources of these data come from archival sources; particularly

the motion pictures that were produced by Scott (1934) with support from

an Act of the U.S. Congress. These films documented chieftains and elders

from thirteen distinct spoken language groups who were communicating

with each other through sign language. Produced during the historical three

day Indian Sign Language Council (September 4 - 6, 1930), a variety of

topics was signed, including anecdotes and stories. These documentary films

62 DW (21)3: 2005 • Evidence of a Historical Signed Lingua Franca among North American Indians

show the Indian participants engaged in several types of discourse. For

example, making introductions and showing name signs for each of the tribes

represented; signing traditional cultural and medicine stories; and making

metaphorical comparisons - such as comparing the radio which the signer

called "White Man's Medicine" with the ability to communicate in dreams

which was called "Red Man's Medicine." 6

Scott (1934) provided the original written transcriptions and voiced

translations for the films that were produced as a result of the council

meeting. In one of the films we see that one of the Chieftains was chanting

and signing simultaneously. In studies involving other Native American

groups, speech with sign accompaniment has been observed (e.g., Farnell

1995). However, this was not a common occurrence in these films. Aside

from one chanting-signing segment, there was only one other example of a

story being told with sign and speech accompaniment. Most of the signed

discourse shown in these films was void of spoken language and mouth

movements.

Sample digitized images and link to film clips

The films show the participants engaged in lively, natural, and un-rehearsed

signed language discourse. The spontaneity and variety of discourse types

captured in these films offers the most remarkable demonstration of

American Indians using sign language. It was noteworthy that the

participants of the Indian Sign Language Council were tribal leaders, and

the largest gathering of tribal leaders to be filmed up to that date. To show

the significance of this historical gathering, a monume~t was erected at the

location of the Indian Sign Language Council. Each participant placed their

footprints in bronze as a permanent record of the historical gathering.

Subsequently, the National Museum of the Plains Indians was built at this

site. Table One shows digitized still images of some participants signing.

6 According to the National Multicultural Interpreting Curriculum (2001, P 27) "medicine is an

array of spiritual practices, ideas, and concepts rather than only remedies and treatments as in

western medicine." Furthermore: "Medicine men and women are viewed as the spiritual healers

and leaders of the community. They have the role not only as a doctor, but they can be the

diviner, rain-maker, prophet, priest, or chief." Medicine is anything that brings one closer to

Great Spirit, to the Divine. In this tradition, all space is sacred space. Every place on the planet

holds a specific energy connection to some living creature and is to be honored for that reason.

, Jeffrey Davis· DW(21)3:2005 63

Table 1: Digitized Images of Sign Language from the Original 1930s Films

(Source: Scott 1934. Copy courtesy of the National Archives, Washington, DC)

Table 1 (Clockwise from top left) Dick Washakie, Shoshone Chief points

to his ancestral home lands; (top right) Short Face of the Piegan tribal

group, discusses hosting the Sign Language Council; (bottom right) Bitter

Root Jim representing the Flathead people, makes the traditional sign for

NATIVE AMERICAN; (bottom left) Bitter Room Jim signs NOW, marking

his turn to make introductions. [Source: Scott 1934, Courtesy of the

National Archives, Washington, DC] The author has established the

following website for readers to view sample historical illustrations (JPEG)

and some digitized films clips (QuickTime) from the corpus of PSL

documentary materials:

http:// sunsi te. u tk. edu / plainssignlanguage /


The Lexicon and Beyond Further linguistic analysis of PSL morphology, grammar, and discourse is

currently underway. Every linguistic level of PSL needs to be considered

f~om the phonetic to the semiotic. This represents an enormous

undertaking and a further study of the lexicon is central to providing

accurate linguistic descriptions and translations. For example, descriptions

and illustrations of more than 8,000 lexical signs have been identified from

11 ~ ~_ previously collected archival sources spanning a two hundred year period

(ca. 1800 - 2000). In a preliminary study, Davis (in press) compared 500

~·lexical descriptions and illustrations produced during several historical time

periods from the PSL language corpus (the early 1800s, late 1800s, 1930s,

and 2002).

Considering historical change and ling4istic variation, Davis found that

approximately two-thirds of the signs from the early 1800 descriptions were

identical or similar (i.e., differing only in a single parameter - handshape,

movement, location, orientation) to the signs documented for subsequent

generations of American Indian signers (Davis in press). While these results

are preliminary and should be interpreted carefully, these findings are

consistent with those of earlier scholars (Mallery 1880, Kroeber 1958,

Voegelin 1958, West 1960) that there was an inter-tribal and

intergenerational signed language lingua franca. The evidence suggests that

PSL was the dominant sign language variety shared by the Plains

communities and was learned by other groups through language contact.

Further historical comparisons, linguistic descriptions and analyses are

currently underway.

Traditionally, the more nomadic groups of the Great Plains signed the

PSL variety - most notably, Kiowa-Tanoan, Siouan, Algonquian, and Uto

Aztecan linguistic groups. West (1960) also identified fluent signers of the

PSL variety among groups from the Plateau area - e.g. the Nez Perce

(Sahaptian) and the Flathead (Salishan). West reported dialect differences

among these groups, but found that these did not seriously impede sign

communication. In a two volume dissertation and a series of motion picture

documentary films, West (1960) documented that signing was still

practiced, particularly on intertribal ceremonial occasions but also in

storytelling and conversation, even among speakers of the same language.

- -- ----------

Jeffrey Davis· DW(21)3:2005 65"\'

The research literature indicates that PSL varieties are distinct from the sign

language varieties used in Ndlrth American Deaf Communities - such as ASL

(see Davis & Supalla 1995, Gordon 2005, McKay-Cody 1997, Newell

1981). There also are striking similarities in linguistic structure between

PSL and ASL (e.g., marked and unmarked handshapes, symmetry and

dominance conditions, and classifier forms). Further research is needed to ., determine the historical connections, similarities, and differences between

these sign language varieties.

Linking Traditional and Contemporary Use

Although greatly diminished from traditionally being used among dozens of

distinct Native American cultural groups, contemporary cases have been

documented. Several recent studies have reported that native groups of the

Plains area still use PSL, and that other groups use signs that are distinct

from PSL (Davis & Sup alIa 1995, Davis 2006, Farnell 1995, Kelly &

McGregor 2003, Mithun 1999, McKay-Cody 1997, Weatherwax 2002).

The evidence suggests that PSL was the dominant sign language variety

shared by the Plains communities and was learned by other groups through

language contact. Currently, signing has been reported within the following

seven distinct spoken language groups, representing four language families

(Algonquian, Athabaskan, Siouan, and Pueblo Isolates).

1. Assiniboine (SIOUAN) 2. Blackfoot = Blood = Pi egan (ALGIC =ALGONQUIAN)

3. Crow (SIOUAN) 4. Keresan = Keres (New Mexico Pueblo Isolates) 5. Navajo = Navaho = Dine (ATHABASKAN)

6. Northern Cheyenne (ALGIC =ALGONQUIAN)

7. Sioux = Lak(h)ota = Dakota = Nakota (SIOUAN)

These research findings suggest that the descendents of Siouan and

Algonquian groups still sign a variety of traditional PSL. Navajo and

Keresan groups appear to use a distinct form of signing, and further

research is needed to determine these differences. Most importantly, to

prevent further language loss, contemporary and historical use of these sign


language. varieties need to be documented, described, and stabilized

through language education. For example, the National Multicultural

Interpreting Project at El Paso Community College, the Intertribal Deaf

Cquncil, and the Department of Blackfoot Studies at Blackfoot Community

College have been involved in cultural education and language stabilization

efforts.

Summary and Conclusions A corpus of previously collected PSL documentary materials .from archival

sources has been the focus of this paper. These materials have been

considered in light of new discoveries and current theories from

interdisciplinary perspectives. Historically, sign language has been used by

North American Indians from dozens of different spoken language groups.

These sign language varieties have been named in different ways - e.g.,

Plains Indian Sign Language (PSL), Indian Sign Language, North American

Indian Sign Language, etc. Native members of these groups commonly

referred to sign language as "hand talk."

A I though the best documented cases involved groups from or in contact

with the Plains cultural groups, signing also was observed and documented

beyond the Great Plains area - including the Southeast, Gulf Coast,

Southwest, Plateau and Basin, Subartic, Mesoamerica, and Northeast

geographic areas. However, this does not mean that these various signed

languages were mutually intelligible. Further research is needed to

determine if these were varieties of the same signed language, or distinct

signed languages. Like other studies of language variation, these different

"ways of signing" are best considered along a continuum, or

multidimensional continua. The study of indigenous signed languages helps

broaden our understanding of these issues and raises other linguistic

questions - e.g., language attitude, contact and change.

r

This paper has taken a two-fold approach to the PSL language corpus

presented here. First, to provide a preliminary description of discourse

features and a comparative historical assessment of the PSL lexicon;

secondly, to make known and point others to this language corpus so that all

levels of the language can be studied and described. Documenting and

describing a language is an enormous undertaking, made urgent by the


endangered status of PSL in this case. The chief aim is to promote language

revitalization, and to enoourage further linguistic research of the

phonological, morphological, and grammatical characteristics of PSL and

other signed language varieties.

Two predominant themes that emerge from early descriptions of'

American Indian sign language are "universality" and "iconicity" -

theoretical issues that signed language studies continue to address today

(Armstrong, Stokoe, & Wilcox 1995). The documented cases of signed

language in various deaf and hearing communities around the world,

demonstrate the human innateness and resiliency for language. Clearly,

language is not limited to oral-auditory modalities, but expressed equally

and richly through visual and kinesthetic means. In contrast to the oral

aural medium of spoken languages, signed languages are' visual-gestural in

nature. The use of gesture and space are exploited and become highly

conventionalized aspects of the overall linguistic system. rsign language was'

used among the Indian Nations of North America as a complementary

alternative to spoken language. Thus used from one generation to the next,

signing became linguistically enriched and conventionalized.

Great care must be taken to preserve the rich legacy of sign language

documentary materials represented in the PSL language corpus. Placing the

historical linguistic documentary materials into digitally stable and

accessible formats will promote further research, description and

translation. Developing an open source PSL digital archive will form a

significant resource for educational programs, libraries, and museums of

natural history; encourage further scholarship and language revitalization;

and provide unprecedented access for multiple users interested in studying,

understanding, preserving, and describing these and other signed language

varieties.

Sign language linguistic research continues to demonstrate the human

innateness, propensity, and resiliency for language; the cognitive, social, and

communicative underpinnings for language acquisition and development;

and provides insights into the origins of human language. Moreover, PSL is

a part of the linguistic and cultural heritage of North America that should

be preserved for this and future generations. Otherwise, like so many oth~r native languages and cultures, PSL could be lost forever.


Further information about American Indian languages and cultures, Native

Americans who are Deaf, and PSL can be obtained from the following

websites:

• The Intertribal Deaf Council (IDC)

http://www.deafnative.com/

• The National Multicultural Interpreting Project at EI Paso

Community College

http://www.epcc.edu/Community/NMIP/Wclcome.html

National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.

http://www.americanindian.si.edu/

• Plains Indian Sign Language Digital Archive

http:// sunsite. utk.edu/plainssignlanguage 1


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ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE

Post:

Claxton A204 The University of Tennessee Knoxville TN 37996-3442

E-mail:

[email protected] Homepage:

http:// web. utk. edul ~jdavis49 I

73

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Evidence of a historical signed lingua franca among North American Indians