A Sioux
chief, Iron Hawk, pointed out that while
the Great Spirit gave whites the power
to read and write, "he gave Indians the
power to talk with hands and arms."
By means of signs like those shown
above, a Plains Indian could communicate
with a speaker whose language was
unknown to him. Though
communication by gesture is probably
older than speech itself, no system has
ever proved more versatile and
expressive than that developed by the
Plains Indians.
