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THE CONFERENCE MEMORIAL

In September, 1930, expert sign talkers from 14 different Plains tribes gathered at Browning, Montana as participants in a conference organized by General Hugh L. Scott for the purpose of demonstrating their use of the gesture languages commonly known as sign language. The Indian Sign Language Conference was convened at the direction of the United States Department of the Interior for the purpose of recording on film the ancient gesture language employed by the Indian peoples of the Plains as a means of intertribal communication. At the close of the conference, each Indian participant, as well as the non-Indian dignitaries who were present during the historic proceedings, left casts of their footprints as a further record of the important event. In 1941, the footprints were cast in bronze along with a bronze plate bearing the name and tribe or title of the person represented. On June 30, 1942, the Indian Sign Language Conference Memorial was first dedicated as a permanent memorial on the lawn of the Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning. The footprints were imbedded in concrete and arranged in a tipi circle according to the position occupied by each participant in the original conference council circle.

In 1973, as part of an extensive renovation program, the Indian Arts and Crafts Board's developmental program called for the reinstallation of the conference Memorial to its present location, directly south of the Museum entrance. It is now permanently available for the education and enjoyment of present and future generations of Museum visitors.

SIGN LANGUAGE

The ancient use of gestures as a medium of expression most likely arose out of the need for communication over vast distances such as that afforded by the expansive environment of the Great Plains region. Sign language, or the use of gestures for communication purposes, reached its highest development among Indian peoples of the Plains. A system of intertribal communication through the use of ideographic gestures made with the hands, sign language was first noted by explorers as early as 1535. Utilized by every Plains Indian tribe from the Saskatchewan River to Mexico; sign language was not developed in non-Plains regions. Plains Indians perfected the use of sign language for a variety of reasons including the fact that they were nomadic peoples able to traverse great expanses of their environment on horseback, therefore in constant friendly or hostile contact with numerous other language groups. In order to communicate with each other, the Plains tribes evolved a highly elaborated use of gesture speech.

The silent means of communication afforded by the use of gesture was particularly useful to warriors in combat, who were able to give signs to each other over a considerable distance in order to surprise the enemy. In council, Indian chieftains found the use of sign language an effective attention getter because those in attendance had to pay strict attention in order to understand what was being conveyed to them. The hunt required a special means of communication in order not to disturb the wary prey. Some feel that sign language derived from the bison hunt. Flathead and Nez Perce Indians, seeking the bison as a source of food, had to cross the mountains where they met with bands of Indians who were strangers to them. Unable to converse vocally, these early-day sign language pioneers made themselves understood by means of gesture which enabled them to carry on intelligible conversation. Native Americans of the Plains region were quick to grasp the salient features of sign language, for example the representation of a bison was accomplished by placing the index fingers next to the head to indicate horns (see illustration right). Distinctions were made between horned animals by the type of horn; - spreading the fingers for the expansive horns of the elk and curling the fingers to represent the horns of the mountain goat.

Basically, sign language is an imitation of acts, qualities, and attributes, it is a description of a thing by color, shape or what it does. Sign language is easily learned because it is elemental, basic and logical. In general, the signs are used idiomatically to convey ideas, as beckoning with one's finger means "come," while an outward wave of the hand means "go." One nods the right index finger up and down to indicate "yes" while turning the right hand over means "no" (illustration right). The thumb and index finger of the right hand is held in an incomplete circle and pointed at the sky to mean "sun." Almost all signs are made with the right hand. Sign language deals with ideas rather than words and each sign should be thought of as a conceptual unit which acquires a literal and definite meaning when used in combination with certain other signs. All articles and small qualifying adjectives are left out entirely in the practice of sign language;-verbs and nouns alone carry the message. A good sign talker can conduct a conversation in sign language nearly three times as fast as he can speak. There is great beauty in sign language when properly performed with round sweeping gestures which are smoothly and rhythmically rendered. One of the most inspirational sights is the Lord's Prayer interpreted in sign language by contemporary Native American peoples of the plains region.

It is interesting to make a comparison between Indian sign language and the signs used for communication by deaf-mutes. Such a comparison reveals a number of differences, such as the fact that Indian sign language "talkers" make much broader gestures than deaf-mutes. Their gestures clear their bodies so that the signs are visible against the background of the sky, whereas deaf-mutes tend to make more restricted gestures which are less expansive in nature. Indian sign talkers use their arms more than the deaf and rarely does an Indian sign depend upon the movement of a single finger, but with the deaf, numerous signs are made by fingers alone. Indians also strive to keep the broad part of the hand, either the palm or the back, to the viewer, the fingers touching, so that a solid surface is apparent. When examined carefully, taking visual distance into consideration, Indian sign language can be read at a much greater distance than deaf-mute signs.

In the past, when sign language was in extensive use in the Plains region, there was often a discrepancy between the signs made by different Indian tribes to express the same idea, and in order to be understood by Indians from other areas, the sign talker frequently had to employ more gestures and occasionally to relay his message by pantomime. Each sign talker had, to some extent, a dialect of his own, made up of his own original invention and adaptations of the gestures of other sign talkers. In the early days, sign language, although extensively used, was also widely diversified and constantly changing. An example of this is the word "coffee,"-before the introduction of the coffee mill among Indian people, coffee was represented as a grain, or more elaborately by describing the process of preparing and drinking the beverage. With the coming of the coffee mill, the motion made to indicate turning the crank of the mill to grind the parched berry became the common gesture for "coffee." On the other hand, many frequently-used gestures have remained unchanged for generations.

Sign language is so faithful to nature and so essentially living in its expression that it is unlikely it will ever die. The specific practice of sign language may become discontinued for a period of time and be replaced by speech, but some of the gestures formerly employed as substitutes for words will often survive as an accompaniment to conversation and to lend emphasis thereof. It is because of this resilience that sign language will always have a place in the hierarchy of human language.

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

In 1930, the United States Congress appropriated the sum of $5,000 to be expended at the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior in order to make a permanent record of sign language, which was considered a primitive means of communication doomed to extinction. In passing the appropriations bill for the project, Congress specified the motion picture system of recording be used as the best method of preserving the theory, history and practice of sign language. It was determined that Major General Hugh Lenox Scott, retired, a pioneer Indian fighter and historian, should organize the project as he had the greatest understanding of sign language of any non-Indian at that time. General Scott was to play the important role in the project as he would serve as interpreter for the stories related by the Indian participants. The conference opened with General Scott welcoming the participants who in turn each introduced themselves and gave their tribal affiliations, all relayed in sign language. Seated around a fireplace inside a large Blackfeet council lodge (tipi), the Native American participants related stories of their experiences, vividly recounting episodes of history and folklore through means of gestures made with their hands. The original filming of the conference did not include sound, but was concentrated instead on recording all aspects of the two day event. Later, General Scott provided an audio narrative of the conference, which was recorded in New York and synchronized with the original silent film to make a motion picture. The resulting film, entitled "The Indian Sign Language," was produced by the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Motion Pictures. It is now preserved by the National Archives.

Each tribal representative was given an opportunity to relate a story in sign language or to carry on a conversation with another participant to prove that the gestures were an effective means of communication. Thirteen different vocal languages were represented by the participants, all of whom shared an understanding of sign language.

The first story in sign language to be recorded on film was relayed by Tom White Horse, an Arapaho from Wyoming. White Horse told of the wonders of the white man's radio, comparing it with the old time Indians' medicine which they used to communicate with in their sleep thus hearing things they could not see. Then along came the white man with his radio which was also capable of producing sounds whose sources could not be seen.

A story of the early bison hunting days was recounted by Mountain Chief, Blackfeet. With eloquent gestures, Mountain Chief told of pursuing the bison to drive them over a cliff where they died on the rocks below. The method of hunting described provided an account of the "buffalo jumps" which were unique to the Northern Plains region.

The longest and most interesting story recorded on film was related by Bitter Root Jim, a Flathead. In extremely animated fashion, Bitter Root Jim told of a particularly difficult time for his people when they were faced with starvation and were unable to locate food. Desperate in his need to feed his family, Bitter Root Jim left them to search for game far afield. Coming upon a huge bear resting in the brush, he shot the bear with his rifle. Suddenly he was faced by five other bears, all in a hostile mood. At this point in the story, Bitter Root Jim began an allegorical treatment of his subject, referring to the bears as "medicine bears" who performed a series of fantastic feats before his unbelieving eyes. Caught up with enthusiasm for his whimsical rendition of the fantasy, Bitter Root Jim delighted the participants with his theatrical presentation in sign language.

Bitter Root Jim's story was a highlight of the sign language conference and the film made of the event.

[IMAGES]
--Conference participants [cover page]
--The conference memorial
--Diagram of signs
--Gen. Scott
--Sott Leavitt
--Bitter Root Jim
--Participants in tipi

SIGN LANGUAGE PARTICIPANTS

Gen. Hugh L. Scott, U.S. Army, Retired; F. C. Campbell, Indian Agent; Scott Leavitt, Congressman; Richard Sanderville, Piegan; Fine Young Man, Sarcee; Bird Rattler, Blood; Jim White Calf, Piegan; Assiniboine Boy, Gros Ventre; Rides Black Horse, Assiniboine; Big Plume, Sarcee; Drags Wolf, Hidatsa; James Eagle, Ankara; Foolish Woman, Mandan; Strange Owl, Cheyenne; Dick Washakie, Shoshone; Tom White Horse, Arapaho; Deer Nose, Crow; Bitter Root Jim, Flathead; Mountain Chief, Piegan; Joseph Dixon, Governor.

SUGGESTED READINGS

1. Sign Language Among North American Indians, by Garrick Mallery, Bureau of American Ethnology, 1st Annual Report, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1879-80.
2. Indian Sign Language, by W. P. Clark, Philadelphia, 1885.
3. Universal Indian Sign Language of the Plains Indians of North America, by William Tomkins, San Diego, California, 1926.
4. The Great Plains, by Walter Prescott Webb, Grosset and Dunlap, New York, 1931.
5. Indian Talk, by Iron Eyes Cody, Healdsburg, California, 1970.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
INDIAN ARTS AND CRAFTS BOARD
MUSEUM OF THE PLAINS INDIAN AND CRAFTS CENTER