Plains Indian Sign Language

Plains Indian Sign Language, also called Hand Talk or Plains Sign Talk, is an endangered sign language historically common to most Indigenous nations of the Great Plains, Northeast Woodlands and Great Basin of North America, used across what is now central Canada, the central and western United States and northern Mexico. It served historically as a lingua franca for international relations, trade and diplomacy, and it continues to be used for storytelling, oratory and ceremonies, as well as by deaf people for everyday communication.