ASL is Destroying Indian Sign Language?

Native American Indians used their versions of sign language well before Europeans or Spaniards ever touched their land (ie “pre-settlement era") what is now called the “United States” and "Canada." In fact, many of their North American Indian signs are similar to that of ASL. It was used between Indian nations or tribes in hunting, trade, for social interaction and even among deaf Indians. In fact, in one particular Indian tribe hearing loss was found to be much more prevalent than elsewhere.

A sign language different from those found among other American Indian tribes and from those used in the American Deaf community was recently discovered on one central New Mexico Keresan-speaking pueblo (Kelley, 2001). In this particular pueblo, a surprising large number of residents with a significant hearing loss were found; 14 (over 2%) out of 650 tribal members were discovered to have a severe to profound hearing loss, meaning they either have difficulty understanding loud or amplified speech or can not understand speech at all.

Pre-settlement population figures north of Mexico ranged from 8 to 20 million with the majority of them living on the eastern half of the “United States” prior to Europeans and Spaniards settling in. Today’s Native American sign language is used within their Indian nations in storytelling, rituals, legends, prayers, and even by Deaf people.

But there’s a sweet if not sick irony about how Deaf people are proclaiming and screaming that their ASL (American Sign Language) is slowly being destroyed by hearing people and that it is slowly disappearing yet never considered the fact that their insistence use of ASL has actually helped destroy (or is destroying) what’s left of Native American Indian Sign Language (NAISL or ISL) among deaf Indians, especially the young ones, when they are forced to choose between ISL or ASL when it comes to their education. They shouldn’t be forced to make that decision at all.

Both KPISL and PISL have become endangered languages. KPISL is not much used among the pueblo’s younger generation owing to their learning school English, ASL, or signs that follow the spoken English word order. Before the 1990s, American Indian Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing tribal members usually left home to attend a residential school for the deaf located far away (Baker, 1997; Lane, Hoffmeister, & Bahan, 1996).

At the school, there was usually no formal instruction of American Indian or American Indian culture and signs; only Deaf culture and ASL were taught, leading many American Indian students to join the “Deaf World.” After graduation, the students had to make difficult decisions about where and how to establish themselves: on the pueblos with hearing families and friends, in urban areas with other Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing people, or in border towns with limited access to both groups.

What a shame or so it seems. How irresponsible of those ASL-only advocates (sarcasm). Destroy one culture while trying to preserve another culture, namely ASL. But do Deaf people have no shame? Why insist or force Deaf Native American Indians to learn ASL when they should be using their own native Indian sign language and help preserve their heritage and culture that have been around for hundreds or thousands of years? This is almost exactly how our English language and culture helped nearly destroy North American Indians’ own heritage and culture by forcing them to learn English and assimilate into American culture in order for them to “survive.” Forcing young Deaf North American Indians use ASL is doing the same selfish act.

Although, each individual Deaf Indian person varies in the identity formation and self-identity, there are several common themes that have been recounted in personal anecdotes within the Indian Deaf groups such as discriminatory behaviors experienced at schools for the deaf, a loss of cultural language, knowledge and affiliation in educational environments, the lack of American Indian Deaf role models and teachers. At the IDC conference each year, a “Talking Circle” allows individuals a healing chance to express their unique experiences from a traditional upbringing to those with lost identities to receive community understanding and support.

The prevalent or wide use of ASL among Deaf American Indians (and Alaskan Native Deaf) is noted in another similar study on its disastrous effect it had on Deaf Native Indians in terms of Indian culture and heritage:

- Literacy and language skills vary widely.
- Many American Indian/Alaskan Native Deaf know only ASL.
- Some American Indian/Alaskan Native Deaf know both ASL and reservation influenced “signing.”
- Many have various degrees of fluency in their tribal language.
- A few are fluent in ASL and Plains Indian Sign Language (i.e. James Woodenlegs).
- Many have language difficulties due to limited or restricted educational opportunities such as,
1. Use of tribal languages and Indian Sign Language (ISL)
2. Use of ASL and English
3. Use of specific ISL vocabulary

Ironically, Deaf North American Indians’ first natural language is their own ISL and not ASL.

Indian Sign Languages are still used today. Indian individuals who are D/deaf may have acquired it as a first language or may code-switch with ASL and/or English signing systems.

Who would have thought that Deaf people (along with hearing educators) would exhibit their own "audistic" behaviors toward Deaf Indians by not allowing them to have their own ISL but are "forced" to use ASL? The study continues on the educational aspect:

D. Educational experiences of American Indian and Alaskan Native Deaf children.

As with other areas, there is little research on the experiences of the unique experiences of American Indian and Alaskan Deaf children. Some themes do emerge from the literature as well as from the experiences of NMIP consultants and Indian Deaf Community individuals. The IDC newsletters contain several articles contemporary issues of raising Indian children and maintaining the Traditional cultural linkages with family and community. Indian Deaf individuals who attend IDC conferences often have shared experiences of having a lack of cultural support during their school years; having a lack of Indian Deaf role modals or staff; remembering the curriculum as Euro-centric “Columbus discovered America;” remembering prejudicial treatment such as being “deloused” or having one’s hair cut without parental permission. These influences resulted in a disconnection or dissonance from community life and language; and a lack of recognition of cultural value’s and languages that the individual possessed. At the other end of these experiences are individuals who due to the early influences of Indian Sign Language had direct access to the cultural knowledge and teachings of their nations. Each individual experience is unique based on all of the factors of deafness such as age of onset, degree of loss and in addition the cultural acculturation and assimilation influences experienced by other Indian peoples. These individuals often walk in three worlds and three distinct cultural experiences.

Many Indian children live in remote locations. Other children live in urban settings or on reservations and pueblos nearer to deaf education programs. In more recent times, state schools have become more attuned to the multicultural issues within their school populations and have attempted to provide a more culturally relevant education. However, it is almost impossible within a “pan Indian” context to impart the specific language cultural traditions that come from life within a family and community context. Many parents are exploring ways to have Indian Deaf children receive an appropriate education nearer to home. Thus interpreter services become a required resource. It is important for the profession to provide Indian individuals opportunities to become education interpreters for both urban programs as well as community based schools. Current efforts are being made to support American Indian Deaf students that attend post secondary programs at Gallaudet University, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, or attend other community colleges such as Pima Community College in Tucson.

At least Project Gutenberg has put together a compilation called “Sign Language Among North American Indians Compared With That Among Other Peoples And Deaf-Mutes,” by Garrick Mallery (year 1881) in the effort to help preserve the history of Indian sign language. It’s a huge file so allow yourself a minute for it to download onto your computer. Contains lots of drawings, stories and how a Deaf-mute Indian interacted with other Indians or non-Indians. Also, there is another historical collection entitled “AMERICAN INDIAN - UNIVERSAL SIGN LANGUAGE.”

I believe this would be required reading among all Deaf people, especially among those who are complaining mindlessly about how ASL is “disappearing” when in fact it’s the NAISL that is disappearing (or have already disappeared by now in some cases in different tribes). With thanks to schools, educators, local government and ASL-only advocators insisting that Deaf North American Indian youngsters learn ASL firstly rather than to encourage them to stay with their own native sign language such as ISL. ASL is NOT their native sign language in the first place!

Now, wouldn’t preventing ISL be considered as one of the "world’s greatest irony" by ASL advocates? Preserve ASL but forget NAISL or ISL when it has been around much, much longer than ASL? And seeing how ironic when NAISL was referenced in a book called “Forbidden Signs American Culture and the Campaign against Sign Language” when there is no way for young Deaf Indians to continue their own ISL naturally but are forced to abandon their own cultural sign language in order to use ASL while in Deaf schools. This is very sad, disturbing even and highly ironic considering the screaming as of late on how ASL is slowly “disappearing.” Better look at what most Deaf people did, collectively speaking, to the sign language culture of Deaf North American Indians. It's nearly gone!

So, if you are feeling a little bit guilty on your indirect (even direct) role on the elimination and destruction of Indian Sign Language then stop by at Gallaudet University tomorrow (November 17, 2007) at the Kellogg Conference Hotel from 5 to 8 PM and meet with the Intertribal Deaf Council to help celebrate the launch of Eagle VRS. News of this announcement was brought to by those who run Deaf Native website.

Perhaps someone out there will finally realize some role ASL has had on ISL and do something to ensure that Native American Deaf Indians’ first language is ISL only (and not ASL only) and help them preserve their thousand years worth of cultural heritage to grow and flourish.


UPDATE: Another link on Sign Language Among North American Native Indians. Pretty impressive stuff!

UPDATE II: Some more on how the English language (ie through American culture and beliefs) nearly killed off Indian's spoken (and ISL) language during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

"Specifically, the native children were taught English only and in most cases were forbidden to follow or practice their cultural traditions (e.g., Prucha 1986). Along with the decline of children's native language and culture, in most cases, was no doubt also the loss of sign language as an alternate means of communication. This is evidenced in the early ethnographic work and motion pictures produced by Hugh Lennox Scott (1931), which are well preserved in the National Archive in Washington, D.C. In the introduction to the film showing chieftains and elders from thirteen different tribes using sign language, Scott tells the chieftains that "it is important to preserve your signing through film because your sons are not learning the sign language."

UPDATE III: Check out "Native Hand Talkers - Meet One Today!"