Its that time of the week again. Today is the second installment of the Text Tuesday series on "A Disability History of United States" by Kim. E. Nielsen.
Sign language has existed for a long time. In fact indigenous North American tribes utilized sign language for both general communication among hearing individuals as well as deaf individuals. Therefore individuals who were deaf were able to communicate among their community without social isolation. No healing ceremonies to rid deafness existed because deafness was not seen as a condition to be cured, deafness was an integrated concept. Elders in the tribes used sign language when their hearing lessened, but also to help with storytelling. Even today many elders still utilize indigenous sign language and pass it on to their children.
Sign language in indigenous North American tribes was commonplace. Different tribes had different dialects. The most widespread was Plains Indian Sign Language. It was used in trade agreements, political negotiations between tribes and for courtship.
A little food for thought! Thanks for reading!
In the following video you can learn some of the history and signs of Plains Indian Sign Language:
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