In the Spring of 2000 during a research study, many residents on one New Mexico Keresan Indian pueblo were found to utilize a language of signs, Keresan Pueblo Indian Sign Language (KPISL), that is much different from others found in the United States. KPISL is an intriguing language and is used among both Deaf and hearing individuals living on the pueblo. However, the language of signs has become endangered for it has not being learned by the pueblo’s younger residents. Along with a brief discussion of the history of Indian Sign Language in North America and of Keresan Pueblo Indian culture and daily life, some KPISL signs will be demonstrated during the presentation.

A sign language different from those found among other American Indian tribes and from those used in the American Deaf community was recently discovered on one central New Mexico Keresan-speaking pueblo (Kelley, 2001). In this particular pueblo, a surprising large number of residents with a significant hearing loss were found; 14 (over 2%) out of 650 tribal members were discovered to have a severe to profound hearing loss, meaning they either have difficulty understanding loud or amplified speech or can not understand speech at all.

The signs, Keresan Pueblo Indian Sign Language (KPISL), are used by some of the pueblo’s Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing individuals. This newly discovered language, an idiosyncratic home sign language, was developed perhaps by family members in order to communicate with their offspring, siblings and relatives who have a hearing loss. The signs appear to have evolved in the same way as spoken language, progressing gradually from the representational to the symbolic, from the picture to the symbol, but still remaining primarily representational or ideographic (Frishberg, 1987). The symbol usually had a clear connection with the object that it stood for; the form of a thing, the movement of the action, the placement of this or that. Today, many individuals in the pueblo use it while communicating with others inside the small village.

The Pueblo Indians are a group of American Indians living in central and northern New Mexico and northeastern Arizona. The word "Pueblo" is not the name of an American Indian tribe. It is the Spanish word for "village" and it was given by the Spaniards, coming up from Old Mexico (Sando, 1992), noticing that the people living in the villages were different from the Plains American Indian tribes who transported their dwellings made of animal skin and in the shape of tents. At that time, the pueblos consisted of solid terraced-storied structures of adobe bricks or stone set in clay and mortar. Rooms were square, with thick flat roofs; and those at the ground level had no windows or doors. Access to the ground-level rooms was by ladders to trapdoors in the roofs (a precaution against attackers from other American Indian tribes). Upper level rooms were reached through the use of movable ladders from roofs of buildings situated below.

The Pueblo Indians belong to four distinct linguistic groups but the cultures of the different villages are closely related. The eastern villages, located along the upper Rio Grande River near Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico include: (1) Isleta, Jemez, Nambe, Picuris, San Ildefonso, San Juan, Santa Clara, and Taos, whose inhabitants speak Kiowa-Tanoan languages (Tewa, Tiwa, and Towa) and (2) Cochiti, Santa Ana, Santo Domingo, San Felipe, and Zia, where Keresan languages are spoken (Kroskrity, 1993; Silver & Miller, 1997). Two slightly westward Keresan pueblos, Acoma and Laguna, along with the Zuni and Hopi pueblos, make up the western villages (Sando, 1992). Since about 1700, the Zuni have been concentrated in one large village in westernmost New Mexico. The Zuni language shows no certain relation to any other language but may belong to the Penutian family (Kehoe, 1992). The Hopi live on or near three mesas in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi language is part of the Uto-Aztecan language family (Silver & Miller, 1997). The Hopi pueblos include Bacabi, Hotevilla, Kykotsmovi, Mishongnovi, Moenkopi, Oraibi, Polacca, Shipaulovi, Shungopavi, Sichomovi and Walpi, and the Tewa-Hopi village of Hano, founded in about 1700 by Tewa-speaking refugees who fled there from New Mexico during the Pueblo Revolt.

The Pueblo Indians, probably the Zuni, were first encountered in 1539 by Spanish explorers, along with the Spanish Franciscan missionary Marcos de Niza (Sando, 1992). A year later the Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, searching for the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola, led an expedition among the Hopi; failing to find any treasure, he withdrew from New Mexico. By 1598 the Spanish succeeded in occupying the entire Pueblo country, and by 1630 Spanish missions were established in almost every village. The Pueblo people were not allowed to continue their traditional rituals; they had to convert to the Spaniards’ Catholic religion. However, in 1680, a mass Pueblo revolt drove the Spanish from the Pueblo Indian lands. No other American Indian group had succeeded in doing this, and the Pueblo enjoyed freedom until being reconquered in 1692.

After the Reconquest, a few of the missions were reestablished; and most of the villages were able to continue their ancient religion along with Catholicism (Erdoes, 1967; Sando, 1992). The number of villages during this time was reduced from approximately 80 to about 30. During this time, cattle, goats, horses, and sheep were introduced through the Spaniards; and wool replaced cotton as the principal textile. The Pueblo people remained under Spanish, and then Mexican, domination until the close of the Mexican War in 1848, when they came under U.S. jurisdiction. Throughout this time, they preserved their traditional culture to an unusually high degree, often adopting superficial religious or governmental changes but maintaining the old ways in secrecy. The western villages, in particular, resisted Spanish influence; in the eastern villages, some Spanish elements were assimilated into the underlying Indian ways.

Today, only a few pueblos consist of multi-level structures; most are one-story buildings still built in the traditional way of using adobe and stones. In addition, the buildings have glass windows and hinged doors. Each village has at least two, and usually several, kivas (underground rooms used for ceremonial purposes). Social organization is in clans and lineages (Kehoe, 1992: Sando, 1992). Descent is matrilineal, and women own the houses. Marriage is monogamous and it must be to someone outside the clan or group of related clans.

Although nominally Christianized, all Pueblo Indians maintain some of a great extent to their ancient beliefs (Kehoe, 1992; Sando, 1992) The principal ceremonies, arranged by the secret societies that use the kivas, are held between crop seasons and consist of prayers and thanksgivings for rain and good crops. Among the western Pueblo Indians, ancestral and other benevolent spirits called kachinas are revered as bringers of rain and social good. The spirits are believed to possess the masked dancers who impersonate them in rituals, and cottonwood dolls depicting them are given to children. Some of the Eastern Pueblo Indians divide their villages into Summer and Winter People, who alternate responsibility for the rituals.

The Pueblo Indian economy is based on agriculture, supplemented by raising livestock and, often, by the sale of handicrafts (Sando, 1992). Each village cultivates fields of corn, beans, cotton, melon, squash, or chili peppers. Men generally work the fields, weave, build houses, and conduct ceremonies; women prepare the food, care for the children, and make baskets and pottery.

Each community has an individual style and technique of basketry (Kehoe, 1992). Pueblo pottery is characterized by a beauty of decoration and shape that is unmatched among modern North American Indians; the work of Pueblo potters such as Maria Martinez (1887-1980) is prized by Indian art collectors (Peterson, 1989). Pueblo men continue to be skilled weavers, producing cotton and woolen clothing and fine woolen blankets.

Today, low incomes, poor health care, poor schooling,; and in some pueblos, unemployment, together with a clash of values with the dominant white culture, have led to significant anger and social distress (Sando, 1992). Interestingly, many tribal members who have left their villages return from time to time to regain contact with the social and religious values of their tradition; they are often seen visiting on Feast Days and major holidays. Sadly, many Pueblo children leave school during their early teens, and several programs have been set up by the tribal government to encourage them to remain in school until completion of their senior year. Only a few go on to receive advanced degrees.

Hearing loss has been reported to be high among American Indians when compared with the general U.S. population (Hammond & Meiners, 1993). Only 1% of the entire American population has a severe to profound hearing loss and those individuals are considered as members of the Deaf community (LaPlante, 1991). American Indians have been almost three times more likely to be hospitalized for conditions of the ear (Hammond & Meiners, 1993). One study reported that 20 to 70% of American Indians have been found to have middle ear problems such as otitis media which is the inflammation of the middle ear cavity (behind the ear drum), usually resulting from the closing of the eustachian tube due to swelling and to loss of ventilation and fluid drainage in the middle ear cavity (McShane & Plas, 1982). Otitis media continues to affect Southwestern Indian tribes at high rates leading to hearing loss, especially among children (Johnson, 1991). It is suspected that the detection of hearing loss goes undetected among American Indian children living in Southwestern United States, thereby the children miss the opportunity for appropriate educational and therapeutic interventions (Johnson, 1991). Also, the impact of hearing loss may affect language development and possibly educational lag.

Pueblo Indians as well as other American Indian Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing individuals usually leave home to attend a school far away from their homes (Baker, 1997; Lane, Hoffmeister, & Bahan, 1996). In Arizona, Pueblo Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing children attend schools at either the Phoenix Day School for the Deaf in Phoenix, the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in Tucson, or the local programs in different public schools located near Navajo/Hopi lands. Pueblo children in New Mexico attend the New Mexico School for the Deaf or nearby local public schools that have a program for Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing children. In all the schools, there is no formal instruction of Pueblo Indian or American Indian culture and signs; only Deaf culture and American Sign Language (ASL) are taught, leading many Pueblo students to join the "Deaf World." After graduation, the students must make difficult decisions about where and how to establish themselves: on the pueblos with hearing families and friends, in urban areas with other Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing people, or in border towns with limited access to both groups. If the students live near a large city, they usually receive vocational services to assist with job training and employment. However, services provided at the vocational rehabilitation offices are limited: there are only a few interpreters knowledgeable in the use of American Sign Language or the signs used among the tribal members and only a few counselors trained to work with young American Indian Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing adults.

Signed language use among American Indians has been best documented within the Plains region of present United States and Canada. This particular region extended from what is now the state of Texas northward to present-day Canada; and, at its widest point, stretched from what is now western Arizona through present-day Oklahoma. Within this region a form of signed language, known as Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL), was once widely used (Silver & Miller, 1997). Tribes residing in the Plains region known to use signed language were the Comanche, the Kiowa, and the Cheyenne (Taylor, 1978). Some reports indicate that signed language was also used in areas beyond the Plains region (Scott, 1931; West 1960). Sign Language was found to be used among the Iroquois in New York state, the Cherokee in the southeastern region of the United States, the Eskimos in Alaska, the Navajo and Hopi in the Southwest, and by the Mayan in Old Mexico (Johnson, 1994; Scott, 1931; West, 1960). Sign language itself has been reported to evolve from Mexico up to the Southwestern region of the United States by the Kiowa (West, 1960).

The earliest accounts of NAISL were recorded through Cabeza de Vaca in the sixteenth century (Tomkins, 1969). This Spanish traveler made a brief mention of meeting American Indian people who could communicate in signed language; the location was the Tampa Bay area of Florida. As he traveled, de Vaca, through the use of signs, was able to ask questions and receive answers with various Indian tribes who spoke different from each other. Another Spanish explorer, Francisco de Coronado, reported that signs were being used in the western part of Texas (Tomkins, 1969). In 1540, Coronado encountered the Tonkawa and Comanche people and he was able to communicate with them using signs and without the assistance of an interpreter.

After setting up numerous missions, the Spaniards along with the priests returned back to their mother country and perhaps shared the discovered sign language with their friends, neighbors, and religious and government officials. From them, the monks had possibly picked up the signs and used it between themselves for they were not allowed to verbalize with each other inside the monasteries (Fischer & Lane, 1993). From there, signs probably spread to educators who saw it as a tool to communicate with the Deaf in Spain and neighboring France.

With the arrival of the United States military in the Plains region in the late 1800s, formal studies were conducted on signs used by various Indian tribes (Clark 1982; Dodge, 1978; Seton, 1918). According to accounts of some American Indians, the main function of the signs was for intertribal communication. The signs were used during hunting and trading among the different tribes and were also used for storytelling and for a variety of ceremonies. Later, Cody (1970) and Tomkins (1969) among others developed comprehensive dictionaries of the signs. Recently a couple of studies (Farnell, 1995; McKay-Cody, 1998) have been conducted on what is left of PISL, but none has been written on the signs such as the Keresan Pueblo Indian Sign Language (KPISL). The signs of KPISL are rather different from PISL; and some researchers in the area of signed languages ask whether the signs evolved from PISL. Perhaps further research in this area will find the answer.

KPISL has been found to function in two significant ways: (a) as an alternative to spoken language for hearing tribal members and (b) as a primary, or first language for Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing tribal members. Unfortunately, the signs are not used among the younger Pueblo Indian generation due to their learning in school American Sign Language (ASL) used by American Deaf individuals or Seeing Exact English 2 (SEE 2), a methodology of using signs following the spoken English word order. In addition, KPISL was used at a nearby pueblo but it is no longer seen.

Following are four illustrated signs "rabbit," "friend," "Mother," and "far" in KPISL and ASL. Differences between the two sign languages can be seen. The sign "rabbit" was first seen one night at the beginning of the study. Before that night, it was not known to outsiders that signs were used among many of the Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing and hearing individuals in the pueblo. "Rabbit" and many other signs such as "mother" and "far" were seen used among Deaf and hearing family members visiting in one home that night; and all of the signers were seen to be fluent in using the signs. On Feast Day in the pueblo, many individuals (both hearing and Deaf) were using KPISL to communicate with each other. Conversations between the hearing and the Deaf covered a wide range of topics such as drum choice, foods, dance steps, and time. One sign often seen during the day was "friend." Some hearing individuals in the pueblo call the signs "Reservation signs" for they are used mainly on their village and not on others. Further research is needed to determine whether KPISL is used and understood by others outside the pueblo.

Despite a long history, KPISL, including NAISL, has become an endangered language. With the loss of its primary function as a facilitator for intertribal contact, KPISL, at present, appears to be largely confined to the older generations. However, it is still necessary to examine what function(s) KPISL may have for these remaining signers. Research is needed to confirm the perceived decline of KPISL among the younger generations. English has now become the dominant language for a large number of the people. Its usage, as well as continued contact with and influences of the dominant culture, has served to erode the traditions and values of the Pueblo Indian culture (Downs, 1972). As a result, KPISL, a valuable piece of American Indian heritage, may be slipping into extinction. An immediate step would be to record sign usage among the Pueblo tribal members who still use KPISL. Documentation of the signs will assist in preserving KPISL and will provide an opportunity for studying it within its historical and socio-cultural context. Understanding KPISL can provide a more complete understanding and appreciation of the cultural heritage of the people living in this small Keresan-speaking pueblo.

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