The hidden history of “Hand Talk”

Summary

This video explores the history and significance of Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL), an ancient communication system used by Native American tribes. Once widely spoken by both deaf and hearing individuals, PISL played a crucial role in commerce, hunting, and diplomacy. Despite its influence on modern American Sign Language (ASL), PISL has been largely erased from history due to the suppression of indigenous languages in U.S. government-run schools. Today, efforts are being made to revive PISL, as it holds deep cultural and historical meaning for Native Americans.

Takeaways

• 👋 Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL) is one of the oldest languages in North America, once widely used for communication between indigenous and non-indigenous people.
• 🤝 PISL, also called 'Hand Talk,' was used for commerce, diplomacy, hunting, and warfare by many Native American tribes, influencing the development of American Sign Language (ASL).
• 🌍 PISL had regional and tribe-specific variations, including Northeast Indian Sign Language and Southwest Indian Sign Language.
• 🧠 By the 19th century, tens of thousands of indigenous people knew PISL, making it a key tool for intertribal communication across a vast area from the Gulf Coast to Canada.
• 🌞 PISL reflects indigenous ways of thinking, measuring time by seasons, the moon, and the sun, with unique signs for concepts like 'war,' 'beautiful,' and 'age.'
• 📜 The language traces back at least to the 1500s, with evidence in rock writing showing signs for 'prayer,' 'elder,' and 'hunger,' suggesting an even earlier origin.
• 🎥 In 1930, General Hugh L. Scott organized a historic gathering of Native leaders to preserve PISL on film, recognizing its decline due to the U.S. government's suppression of indigenous languages.
• 🏫 Native children were punished for using PISL in residential schools, leading to a significant decline in fluent signers.
• 🤟 Today, only a few dozen fluent PISL signers remain, though efforts are being made to revive and preserve the language among both hearing and deaf indigenous people.
• 🌿 PISL carries deep cultural meaning, with signs for specific tribes, and many Native American communities are pushing to incorporate it into education and daily life.

Q & A

What is Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL) and how was it used?

Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL) is one of the most well-documented indigenous sign languages in North America. It was used as a medium for communication among intertribal nations, especially in commerce, gaining intelligence, hunting, and warfare.

What is 'Hand Talk' and how does it relate to PISL?

Hand Talk is a broad term used to describe indigenous sign languages in North America. Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL) is one regional variation of Hand Talk, which was widely used across the Plains, Gulf Coast, and into Canada.

How did PISL influence American Sign Language (ASL)?

Variations of Hand Talk, including PISL, were so commonly used that they influenced the development of American Sign Language (ASL), which is now the predominant sign language in the US and Canada.

What were some of the basic building blocks of PISL?

PISL consists of roughly 4,000 basic words that form its vocabulary. For example, 'war' is signed by combining 'big' and 'fight,' and 'beautiful' is signed by combining 'face' and 'good.'

How does PISL reflect indigenous ways of thinking about time?

In PISL, time is measured using natural cycles. For example, months are measured by moons, days by the sun, and questions about age are asked by referencing the number of winters a person has experienced.

What happened to PISL as a result of US government policies in the 1800s?

In the late 1800s, Native children were sent to government residential schools that enforced an 'English-only' policy. This cut them off from their native languages, including PISL. Children were punished for signing, and this contributed to the decline of the language.

What evidence exists that PISL has ancient roots?

PISL can be traced back to at least the 1500s through Spanish colonizers' journals, but rock carvings and symbols depicting signs like 'prayer' and 'elder' suggest it may be even older.

What efforts are being made today to preserve PISL?

Today, many indigenous people, including Deaf Native Americans, are working to incorporate PISL into everyday life and are advocating for its inclusion in mainstream education to preserve it for future generations.

Why is PISL particularly important for indigenous Deaf Americans?

Indigenous Deaf Americans often use ASL, but ASL lacks signs for cultural elements like Native American tribe names. PISL includes signs for tribes, with gestures that reflect the meaning behind each tribe's name, making it more culturally relevant.

Why is General Hugh L. Scott significant in the history of PISL?

In 1930, General Hugh L. Scott organized one of the largest gatherings of intertribal leaders to document and preserve PISL. He recognized that younger generations were not learning the language, and his efforts were an early attempt to preserve it.

Outlines

00:00

👋 The Basics of Hand Talk: Origins and Influence

This paragraph introduces the concept of Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL), also known as 'Hand Talk,' a sign language used by both deaf and hearing indigenous people in North America. The narrator shares personal memories of how their father communicated with their grandmother using basic signs for words like 'yes,' 'no,' 'good,' and 'bad.' The history of PISL is traced back centuries, influencing the development of American Sign Language (ASL). Despite its historical significance, Hand Talk has been largely erased from history.

05:06

📜 Historical Accounts of Hand Talk

This paragraph discusses the historical documentation of Hand Talk by Spanish colonizers in the 1500s, who noted that indigenous people were so proficient in sign language that they did not need interpreters. Rock art depicting signs for concepts like 'prayer,' 'elder,' and 'hunger' suggests that Hand Talk predates written records. The paragraph highlights regional and tribal variations of Hand Talk, with Plains Indian Sign Language being one of the most well-documented forms due to its widespread use across indigenous tribes in commerce, hunting, and warfare.

Keywords

💡Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL)

Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL) is a form of sign language used by various Native American tribes, primarily in the Great Plains region. It was used for communication between tribes with different spoken languages and played a key role in commerce, diplomacy, and warfare. The video highlights its historical significance, its decline due to US government policies, and efforts to preserve it today.

💡Hand Talk

Hand Talk refers to indigenous sign languages used by both deaf and hearing people in North America. Variations of Hand Talk, including Plains Indian Sign Language, were widely used for communication among Native American tribes. The video emphasizes how Hand Talk has influenced modern American Sign Language (ASL) and how it was written out of history.

💡American Sign Language (ASL)

ASL is the predominant sign language used by deaf individuals in the US and Canada. The video discusses how ASL was influenced by indigenous sign languages like Hand Talk but doesn't fully reflect the cultural experiences of Native American signers. Many native deaf individuals use a mix of ASL and PISL to preserve their cultural identity.

💡Commerce

Commerce refers to trade and the exchange of goods and services. In the context of the video, PISL was widely used for intertribal commerce and trade. The ability to communicate across different languages using sign language facilitated economic interactions between different Native American groups.

💡Intertribal Communication

Intertribal communication refers to the exchange of information and dialogue between different Native American tribes. PISL was a key medium for this communication, helping tribes coordinate for trade, diplomacy, hunting, and warfare. The video shows how PISL served as a 'universal' language among tribes that spoke different languages.

💡Residential Schools

Residential schools were institutions where Native American children were forcibly sent by the US government, with the aim of assimilating them into Western culture. The video explains that these schools enforced an 'English-only' policy, punishing children for using their native languages, including sign languages like PISL, which contributed to the decline of these languages.

💡Cultural Erasure

Cultural erasure refers to the systematic destruction or removal of a culture's language, traditions, and identity. The video highlights how the US government’s policies, including those in residential schools, sought to erase Native American languages, including PISL, and suppress cultural identity. This has led to the near extinction of indigenous sign languages.

💡General Hugh L. Scott

General Hugh L. Scott was a military figure who recognized the importance of PISL and organized a significant gathering of intertribal indigenous leaders in 1930 to document and preserve the language. The video shows him warning that young people were not learning PISL and that it was at risk of disappearing.

💡Sign for Tribes

The video emphasizes that PISL has a unique sign for every Native American tribe, each connected to a specific meaning or characteristic of the tribe. For example, the sign for Crow represents a knotted hairstyle, while the sign for Shoshoni imitates the movement of a snake. This contrasts with ASL, which lacks signs for tribe names, requiring them to be finger-spelled instead.

💡Endangered Language

An endangered language is one at risk of disappearing, with few fluent speakers left. The video points out that PISL is an endangered language, with only a few dozen fluent signers remaining. Efforts to incorporate PISL into daily life and education are underway to preserve it for future generations.

Highlights

Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL) is one of the oldest sign languages in North America, used for commerce, economics, and communication between tribes.

PISL influenced the formation of American Sign Language (ASL), though it has mostly been written out of history.

Spanish colonizers in the 1500s documented the use of sign language among indigenous peoples, eliminating the need for interpreters.

Rock art depicts early use of Hand Talk, showing signs for concepts like 'prayer,' 'elder,' and 'hunger,' dating the language back even further.

Hand Talk had many regional variations, including Northeast Indian Sign Language and Southwest Indian Sign Language, with tribe-specific signs within each region.

Plains Indian Sign Language was used extensively for communication in trade, hunting, and warfare across vast territories, including Canada.

PISL has around 4,000 basic signs, without a finger-spelled alphabet, relying on combinations of signs to express complex ideas like 'war' ('big' + 'fight') or 'beautiful' ('face' + 'good').

The way PISL asks 'How old are you?'—'How many winters are you?'—reflects indigenous worldviews, measuring time through natural cycles like moons and the sun.

PISL and ASL share similarities, and researchers believe Northeast Indian Sign Language helped shape ASL.

In 1930, General Hugh L. Scott gathered indigenous leaders to document PISL, as he feared it was disappearing with younger generations not learning the language.

In the late 1800s, U.S. government policies, particularly in residential schools, punished Native children for using their languages, including PISL.

Today, only a few dozen fluent PISL speakers remain, and many Deaf Native Americans now use ASL, which lacks signs for many tribal names.

PISL has specific signs for each Native American tribe, connected to cultural symbols—like the Crow sign, which mimics a knotted hairstyle.

Deaf indigenous people are beginning to mix PISL and ASL to preserve and represent their cultural identity in signing.

Efforts are underway to incorporate PISL into everyday life and mainstream education, recognizing it as a language that carries both words and history.

Transcripts

My father, when he talked to my grandmother,

they'd have to use these signs.

For example, some of the basics was like, “yes” and “no”...

“good” and “bad.”

[light, rhythmic music]

This is one of the oldest languages in North America.

[rhythmic music persists]

This is a “Crow Indian.”

This was a “white person.”

It’s called Plains Indian Sign Language.

One of many indigenous sign languages, broadly known as “Hand Talk,”

that were once used widely by both deaf and hearing people.

It was the means for commerce.

It was the means for economics.

[music builds]

Variations of Hand Talk were so commonly used

that it would influence the formation of American Sign Language, or ASL,

the predominant sign language used today in the US and Canada.

But Hand Talk has mostly been written out of history.

[music fades out]

[quick and rhythmic piano notes, urgent but persistent]

When a Spanish colonizer first reached one indigenous community in the southwest,

he noted that indigenous people knew signs so well

“that there was no need for an interpreter.”

[rhythmic piano continues]

That sign language was likely a variation of Hand Talk.

And these journals can trace it back to at least the 1500s.

But if you take a look at a different kind of writing,

the evidence suggests it goes back even further.

[urgent and rhythmic music continues]

There’s also rock writing depicting “prayer,” versus a similar sign for “prayer.”

Or a symbol for “elder”, indicating a person with a walking stick,

versus a sign for “elder.”

And this: a symbol for “hunger,” versus a sign for “hunger.”

Hand Talk, which researchers also call

“North American Indian Sign Language,” has many regional variations,

like Northeast Indian Sign Language here,

or Southwest Indian Sign Language here;

as well as tribe-specific variations within those regions.

And here — from the Gulf Coast region, up through the Great Plains into Canada,

[music stops]

was the home of Plains Indian Sign Language.

[curious music begins]

PISL is one of the most well- documented Hand Talk variations,

probably because of how widely it was used.

Plains Indian Sign Language was the medium for communication of intertribal nations.

And that had a lot to do with how those tribes lived.

By the 19th century, tens of thousands of indigenous people

were reported to have known PISL.

It was the standard language used just as English is used today at the United Nations,

especially in commerce, in gaining intelligence, in hunting,

[music stops]

even in warfare.

[urgent staccato music starts]

In PISL, there’s no finger-spelled alphabet like you find in other sign languages.

Its building blocks are roughly 4,000 basic words

that form its vocabulary.

For the word “war,” you’d sign “big” and “fight.”

For the word “beautiful," you’d sign “face” and “good.”

Or for “stream," you’d sign the words “river” and “little”.

There is...

a stream...

on the other side of some bluffs over there.

The way PISL works also shows indigenous ways of thinking about the world.

For example, let’s take the simple question:

How old are you?

First, there’s a single sign for “question.”

So for a question about someone’s age,

you’d use the motion for question with the motion for “winter”.

How many winters are you?

That's what I ask.

In PISL you measure months by moons, days by the sun.

And to refer to different times of day,

you would show hand placement according to the position of the sun in the sky.

So this sign for morning, afternoon, or night.

If you look at some of this side-by-side with American Sign Language,

you’ll notice some similarities.

Like that sign for moon, along with other similar words.

Researchers believe another form of Hand Talk, Northeast Indian Sign language,

was one of the contributors to ASL.

[music builds]

[bass note rings and music fades]

[film reel static and ominous string music begins]

This film from September 1930

shows one of the largest gatherings of intertribal indigenous leaders ever filmed.

They were brought together by General Hugh L. Scott

to document and preserve PISL.

[music fades]

“I have brought you from every direction to sit in this council."

"I have come myself from very far in the east to sit with you."

"Young men are not learning your sign language, and soon it will disappear from this country.”

[music holds an ominous tone and fades]

By the time this gathering took place,

Scott’s predictions were already coming true.

[slow, somber music begins]

In the late 1800s, the US government began sending

Native children to government residential schools,

where administrators enforced a strict “English-only” policy

explicitly designed to cut off children from their families,

their culture, and their native identities.

They were punished severely for speaking their languages.

And that also meant signing.

And if they signed, sometimes many of these kids were beaten,

and they were systematically...

psychologically destroyed.

In the violent pursuit of standardizing language in the US,

[music fades to silence]

we lost tens of thousands of indigenous signers.

There are only a few dozen fluent PISL signers left.

[piano notes start to play]

Today, many indigenous deaf Americans use ASL.

But many of ASL's signs are rooted in a cultural experience that isn't theirs.

Even though ASL has an extensive vocabulary,

there’s one big thing it doesn’t have signs for:

names of tribes.

In ASL, you'd have to spell out tribe names.

But with PISL, there’s a sign for every Native American tribe,

with gestures connected to their meanings.

For example, this sign for Crow imitates a knotted hairstyle.

[music fades out]

This sign for Shoshoni imitates the movement of a snake.

And this sign for Cheyenne shows a striped arrow.

That’s why Melanie and other Deaf native people

are beginning to use a mix of PISL and ASL.

[rhythm double times, becoming more urgent]

Okay, Hand Talking.

Plains Indian Sign Language is still endangered.

But many indigenous people are working to incorporate it more into everyday life.

[hopeful music builds]

And pushing for it to be included in more mainstream education.

Because as a language, PISL is more than words.

It carries their history.

We not only can hear a native language.

We can do it.

We can see it.

And we can also feel it.

Plains Indian Sign Language is almost in our DNA.

[first song of curious, driving tones plays]

[music fades to silent]