A Plains Indian Sign Language workshop will take place July 28-Aug. 2 at Chief Poundmaker Museum.
Plains Indian sign language has been used by various groups in North America. Many Indigenous languages are at risk of being lost, and the event at Poundmaker is one of many recent efforts to preserve and spread such languages.
“Our languages are in a state of crisis and we must do what we can to ensure their survival,” Poundmaker Headman Milton Tootoosis said in a press release.
The workshop will be facilitated by Dr. Lanny Real Bird of Crow Agency, Montana. According to a release from Poundmaker, Real Bird is one of the few fluent speakers of Plains Indian sign language on the Plains.
There are approximately 1,000 known speakers left, according to the release.
The workshop’s hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 28 to Aug. 2. Registration is limited and workshop fees apply.
Contact Floyd Favel at 306-317-3097 or Alexandra Nordstrom at 306-480-8219 for more information.
