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The common narrative about signing in North America starts in 1817 when Thomas Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc founded a school for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut, providing the birthplace for American Sign Language. But long before ASL emerged, Indigenous peoples had been signing here for generations. Hand Talk, the collective term for Indigenous signed languages of North America, is used by both deaf and hearing members of Indigenous communities across the continent. The goal of this article is to raise awareness of Hand Talk, and to encourage individuals to share their knowledge of Hand Talk in contexts where they previously did not. By making Hand Talk a part of our shared understanding of signing in North America, we will improve opportunities for language reclamation efforts and repair the history of signing that is rooted in this land.

JAMES WOODEN LEGS, a Northern Cheyenne deaf man, grew up in Montana signing with his hearing family members who all knew Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL) to varying degrees. At a January 2023 gathering at the University of New Mexico, he shared the story of how he came to learn American Sign Language (ASL; Wooden Legs 2023). When he was eight years old, he was sent to a residential school for the Deaf and was exposed to ASL for the first time. He explained that he was not allowed to use PISL when at school. He would be slapped on his hands for using an "incorrect" sign if he produced one of the signs used in his home. He then learned the "correct" ASL signs. When he returned home and used the new ASL signs, his family could not understand him and asked him to use his tribe's language. He quickly discovered that he needed to switch between sign languages when at school and at home. He did not think of himself as bilingual because he was never allowed to use his home language at school. He learned to hide his home language from a young age. It was not until he was an adult and looked back on these childhood experiences that he understood that the compulsory school system systematically suppressed his Native language.

This story, shared within a circle of students who demonstrated a commitment...

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