Talking Hands the quiet language of early Native Americans

 Written by Bug

There are many fine books about the Native American Indians. The problem is that Indian Sign Language books are hard to find. Today this language is rarely to be seen anywhere. I found the rare videos, see below.

For untold thousands of years the American Indian people have communicated with sign language. Indian Sign Language is believed to have been the first widely used North American language. Records of early European visitors frequently note that Native Americans were proficient in communication through the use of signs.  The need for some universal means of communication is obvious, considering the large number of Indian tribes living in North America when the first Europeans arrived. Most of these tribes had their own distinct language, often much different from that of their neighbors. Verbal communication would have been tough. Indian Sign Language was the answer. It was the primary language of trade and commerce. Apparently it became standardized at a fairly early date with the same signs used almost universally with only slight variations from tribe to tribe.  I first learned about Indian Sign Language when I found an old dusty book at the Aspen Camp School for the Deaf where I worked for years. It interested me so I taught myself. This early interest in Indian Sign Language rekindled at camp. We set up the Indian Village there where many people came to enjoy learning the past of Native American history such as dance, foods, music, and many more, of coure, including Indian Sign Language. We had Native American guests visiting us. It was fun.  

A few years later I met Deaf Native American from Indian Reservation at South Dakota. We became close friends. She taught me the beautiful Indian Sign Language. She loved talking about her grandparents and great grandparents in the history of Native America. I found this interesting that many relatives in her family were Deaf. Most of them didn’t go to Deaf school. They knew American Sign Language (ASL) and Indian Sign Language. Most time they used their own “Home Sign” in their own Indian Sign Language so they could communicate better with others  just like if your family doesn’t know sign language so you use the gestures and “home” sign.  

I wish to continue learning more Indian Sign Language but unfortunelly my beloved Native American friend passed away three years ago. I will treasure the values and history what I’ve learned from my beloved Native American friend.

I found some interesting videos of Indian Sign Languages at youtube under Tommyfoley, special thanks to him. Enjoy watching.

 

To see more videos, go to Tommy’s youtube profile and pick the video you wish to view. Click: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=tommyfoley&p=r