Indigenous Sign Languages: what is Hand Talk?

When many people think of sign language, they immediately think of ASL (American Sign Language).

But long before ASL existed, Indigenous peoples across North America were already using a highly developed and widespread sign language known as Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL) — or simply, as they would call it, Hand Talk 👐🏽

🌎 A shared language across nations

Hand Talk was much more than a communication tool for Deaf people. It was a lingua franca — a shared language that brought together many different Indigenous nations.

Used across the Great Plains and beyond, it allowed people to:

✔️ Trade goods

✔️ Negotiate alliances and peace

✔️ Share stories, news, and traditions

✔️ Communicate during hunts or across long distances

At its peak, Hand Talk was understood and used by an estimated 110,000 people, including nations such as the Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Sioux, Kiowa, and Arapaho.

In this way, Hand Talk was central to international relations, trade, diplomacy, and everyday life across vast and diverse territories.

🗺️ Who used Hand Talk?

Hand Talk was a unifying language in a region with dozens of spoken languages.

While Deaf community members used it as their primary language, hearing individuals also became fluent so they could communicate across nations peacefully and respectfully.

Whether for diplomacy, ceremonies, storytelling, or trading buffalo hides, Hand Talk connected people who otherwise spoke completely different languages (a bit like English does today). How cool is it that the lingua franca was a Sign Language? 🤯

Protecting a vital tradition

Today, like many Indigenous languages, Hand Talk is endangered. Colonization, forced assimilation, and language suppression led to its decline. 🙁

However, many Indigenous communities and allies are working to revitalize and preserve Hand Talk! Efforts to document Hand Talk and pass it on to new generations are helping to keep it alive and respected as part of Indigenous cultural heritage. 💪🏽

💙 Why Hand Talk matters

Hand Talk shows us that sign language has always been part of human history — used to connect people, build communities, and share knowledge.

By celebrating and supporting languages like Hand Talk, we honor the creativity, resilience, and traditions of Indigenous peoples, and help ensure that this incredible piece of history is never forgotten.

Hands carried stories across plains, nations, and generations. Just like Hand Talk once connected Indigenous nations, ASL connects people and communities today!

Every sign you learn helps build bridges between cultures, histories, and hearts. 💙