this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2025
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Map of the various sign languages spoken across Turtle Island, excluding Francosign languages. Plains Sign Language is labelled in red as Hand Talk

Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL), also known as Hand Talk, Plains Sign Talk, Plains Sign Language, or First Nation Sign Language, is an endangered sign language common to the majority of Indigenous nations of North America, notably those of the Great Plains, Northeast Woodlands, and the Great Basin. It was, and continues to be, used across what is now central Canada, the central and western United States and northern Mexico. This language was used historically as a lingua franca, notably for international relations, trade, and diplomacy; it is still used for story-telling, oratory, various ceremonies, and by deaf people for ordinary daily use.

In 1885, it was estimated that there were over 110,000 "sign-talking Indians", including Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Sioux, Kiowa, and Arapaho. As a result of the European colonization of the Americas, most notably including American boarding and Canadian residential schools, the number of sign talkers has declined sharply. However, growing interest and preservation work on the language has increased its use and visibility in the 21st century. Historically, some have likened its more formal register, used by men, to Church Latin in function. It is primarily used today by Elders and Deaf citizens of Indigenous nations.

History

Hand Talk's history is intimately associated with both ancient and recent petroglyphs of the continent, however, little is known to academia about Plains Sign Talk's historical antecedents. The earliest records of contact between Europeans and Indigenous peoples of the Gulf Coast region in what is now Texas and northern Mexico note a fully-formed sign language already in use by the time of the Europeans' arrival there. These records include the accounts of Cabeza de Vaca in 1527 and Coronado in 1541.

Signing may have started in the south of North America, perhaps in northern Mexico or Texas, and only spread into the Plains in recent times, though this suspicion may be an artifact of European observation. It is known that there is a complex of Maya sign languages called Meemul Chʼaabʼal or Meemul Tziij in the Kʼicheʼ language, but it is unknown to what extent Meemul Tziij has affected Hand Talk.

The Northwest is home to Plateau Sign Language, which is either a single language or a family of sign languages spoken by the local nations. It is also unknown how associated Plateau Sign Language is with Hand Talk, but it is probable that they are related. Although it is still spoken, especially by the Ktunaxa, the Plateau nations historically shifted to using Chinook Jargon instead

In recent years, the Oneida Nation has taken steps to revive their sign language. Historically, the nations of the Northeast Woodlands, like the Haudenosaunee, spoke a variant of Hand Talk. The Oneida Sign Language Project officially began in 2016, and more signs are being added to this day.

Geography

Sign language use has been documented across speakers of at least 37 spoken languages in twelve families, spread across an area of over 2.6 million square kilometres (1 million square miles). In recent history, it was highly developed among the Crow, Cheyenne, Arapaho and Kiowa, among others, and remains strong among the Crow, Cheyenne and Arapaho.

Melanie R. McKay-Cody, a Cherokee Deaf woman and Hand Talk speaker/researcher, motions that "Plains" Sign Language is actually a family of inter-related languages extending beyond the Great Plains. She breaks down the regional languages as: Northeast Hand Talk (including Oneida Sign Language), Plains Sign Language, Great Basin Sign Language (spoken, for example, by the Ute), and Southwest Hand Talk. She also notes a West Coast language spoken by the Chumash, and she advances the idea that Inuit Sign Language has some relation to this complex of manual North American Indigenous languages. Unmentioned is Coast Salish Sign Language. Within each of these languages, she explains that nations will themselves have specific dialects, such as the Blackfoot.

Southwest Hand Talk is spoken by the Navajo, Hopi, Apache, and Pueblo peoples. However, amongst the Navajo and Keres people, there are two unrelated sign languages also spoken: Keresan Sign Language and, by a Navajo clan with a large number of deaf members, Navajo Family Sign. Likewise, Plateau Sign Language may or may not be related to Hand Talk.

The hidden history of “Hand Talk”

reminders:

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  • 🌈 If you ever want to make your own megathread, you can reserve a spot here nerd
  • 🐶 Join the unofficial Hexbear-adjacent Mastodon instance toots.matapacos.dog

Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):

Aid:

Theory:

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[–] MF_COOM@hexbear.net 6 points 3 days ago

Lazy Sunday morning on the balcony - she's reading graeber I'm reading lenin-sure. Sun isn't too hot, good dog at our feet. Doesn't get much better.

[–] homhom9000@hexbear.net 7 points 4 days ago

It's going to be a long hot summer. One where you personally decide if you want to stick to theory or graduate to practice

[–] ClathrateG@hexbear.net 5 points 3 days ago
[–] WIIHAPPYFEW@hexbear.net 5 points 3 days ago

no one told me that russia's name originated as an exonym for sweden wtf lmao

Roomba trip report: i really like having it, my floors are so adequately clean, if i step on cat litter i tell that fucker to run and hey my floor is clean again. I was worried the mopping wouldn't be good and i'm not about to have it mop up a big spill but the floors don't feel super sticky anymore, i can live without socks on. It's actually really nice because unless i make a huge mess somewhere or it breaks i don't think i'll ever have to vacuum or mop again

[–] Wmill@hexbear.net 8 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Come to think of it I've never lost a fight in my dreams, I either just keep getting more brutal or unleash absolute whimsy to win. I feel these are my 2 settings

[–] HarryLime@hexbear.net 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

IDK how one even fights in a dream. Trying to throw a punch feels like you're in a thick viscous fluid

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[–] Wmill@hexbear.net 8 points 4 days ago

When they added settlement building and farming to elden souls I was skeptical but fromsoft you've done it again absolute-cinema can't wait for the karaoke and racing minigames coming next

[–] LanyrdSkynrd@hexbear.net 12 points 4 days ago (2 children)

When I was 12 or 13 I used BBS's, which was like a proto-internet kind of thing where your computer would dial in to other people's computers. They had games, message boards and file downloads.

Anyway, I met this guy who lived in my town through one of these. His handle was "Violator". I asked my mom to bring me to his house to hang out. She drove me, a teenager, to where this 35 year old man lived in an RV behind his parents house.

I was not molested, but looking back on it, I cannot believe my mother let me go.

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[–] DragonBallZinn@hexbear.net 16 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Lathe: if Zohran pulls off the primary you WILL see lib media like NYT or CNN post articles like

“The progressive case to vote Republican. Just this once.” or some shit.

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[–] CrispyFern@hexbear.net 8 points 4 days ago (3 children)

If you see someone identical to you, please run away

[–] oscardejarjayes@hexbear.net 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

What if we are a twin or triplet?

[–] CrispyFern@hexbear.net 3 points 3 days ago

I'm sorry I dont make the rules, I just repeat them for others to know.

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[–] XxFemboy_Stalin_420_69xX@hexbear.net 9 points 4 days ago (2 children)

rewatching s1 of true detective again. holy christ it's so good

[–] XiaCobolt@hexbear.net 5 points 4 days ago

Underrated in how funny it is too

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[–] BanSwitch2Buyers@hexbear.net 7 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (3 children)

@Dirt_Owl@hexbear.net, After a week of using that anti-dust spray I did a round two this weekend and there was barely any dust. I think most of the dust that was there was due to me not swapping cloths enough during my first clean last week. So I think I can confirm that it works pretty well. Only thing I would change would be adding like at least 1-2 teaspoons of some kinda' scent/oil to override the white vinegar smell that it'll have for a couple hours.

My room's nicely dust-free for a week+ when I'd sometimes dust on like a Friday afternoon and notice things gettin' dusty again on Monday.

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[–] WizardOfLoneliness@hexbear.net 10 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

what the fuck was wrong with the writers of The Walking Dead that made them constantly introduce and then kill off likeable characters but then like the absolutely insufferable characters stick around FOREVER

I'm so sick of Gabriel and I want him to just fucking die already but woops, nope, he lives until season fucking 11 or some bullshit?? Christ on a cracker, fuck, he literally tried to die twice in this fucking episode ahhhhhh god damn it. Meanwhile it's like one more season until they kill Glenn, a character who is actually likeable

WILL NO ONE RID THIS SHOW OF THIS TURBULENT PRIEST

edit: oh my god they never kill him fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

[–] HarryLime@hexbear.net 8 points 4 days ago (1 children)
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[–] CrispyFern@hexbear.net 12 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Did you know? They're reforming the Dawnguard.

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[–] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 7 points 4 days ago

Someone working at the grocery store i go to has been increasingly clearly trying to flirt with me (made a point to show me pics on their phone of new pants they bought from hot topic, asked if i ever shopped there acted super impressed when I said all of my clothes are from donation bins and asked what anime I liked when I mistook a band logo for the bleach logo and said 'oh theyre anime pants?' As a best guess, I know very little anime and just recognized the logo but had already been asked what ani.e I liked and mentioned I'd gotten into to gundam recently and they said they'd check it out and recommended Eva. I tried to get an age mention by saying I'd seen it priestly way too young when vhs fandubs were a thing cause im pretty sure they're too young and think im like a decade younger than I am, maybe they aren't and id dste anyone who is that interested in me from the start. It's just like...now as a customer should I be like "noticed you've been hitting on me are you at least like...25 or so cause I'm in my early 30s." Or them being at work and aski g me out and me replying with that.

[–] wombat@hexbear.net 9 points 4 days ago

it is june 7 and stalin saved the world from fascism

I got a "spectracide flip & go" insect killer spray and it has a built in motor or some shit to pump. Apparently it's not meant to be turned on its side because it stopped pumping and i can't fix it and FUCKING GOOGLE just serves me up results on how to fix their nearly identical thing with a detached sprayer wand

[–] Frogmanfromlake@hexbear.net 8 points 4 days ago (3 children)

I decided to torture myself by going on Reddit and reading posts from Latin Americans about how bad Cuba is and justifying the embargo that’s put it in the position it’s currently in while simultaneously saying Communism did it.

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[–] buckykat@hexbear.net 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Dialectics:

thesis: maoist standard english

antithesis: nerds saying micro$oft

synthesis: mikkkro$oft

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[–] Goblinmancer@hexbear.net 12 points 4 days ago (2 children)
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[–] Redcuban1959@hexbear.net 7 points 4 days ago (2 children)

So my pc broke, idk if it's 100% dead or not but I guess I fucked it up. It was a 8 year old pc, but it still sucks to lose it.

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