Dances with Wolves.

[Jonathan Holmes]

Whenever I have had the occassion, over the last 30 years, to sit with elders amongst the Osage, Ponca, Pawnee, Comanche, Oglala Lakota, Sicangu Lakota, Southern Cheyenne, Picuni Blackfoot, Sauk & Fox, and Kiowa, there is frequently a tendency for some elders to speak and sign with their hands at the same time whether they are speaking in english or their native tongue. It seems to be a natural extention of their expressive nature when telling a story, but not a lot of younger generations are picking up the habit.
Jonathan

Justin McBride <jmcbride at kawnation.com> wrote:
> This prompts me to ask: I had always heard that tribes used sign language when communicating with other tribes who spoke different languages.
> But does this Lakhota example of using sign language in "Dances With Wolves" even among themselves mean that they also routinely used
> sign language amongst themselves to supplement their common spoken language?  Just curious.

I'v always heard that back in the day, some of the older Osage men in my hometown of Pawhuska, OK, used to sit around on parkbenches signing all day long with each other.  Supposedly it was hours of silence punctuated by occasional laughter.  I heard the same stories about the Grayhorse elders.  Whenever they came into Fairfax, they'd sign back and forth instead of talking.  I don't know how true this is, of course, but that's just what I've heard.

-Justin

		
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