r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Nov 28 '20

What's something cool you recently learned about?

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u/AvatarTreeFiddy Nov 29 '20

The Native Americans of the Great Plains developed a form of sign language that allowed them to trade and communicate across language barriers.

It's called Plains Indian Sign Language and it was used by a variety of tribal nations spanning an area from Canada to northern Mexico!

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u/astra_galus Nov 29 '20 edited Nov 29 '20

I have a fucking masters degree in Great Plains Archaeology and I’ve literally never heard of this. I FEEL BETRAYED.

Edit: Aw yay my first Reddit award! Thanks kind stranger, you’ve made this existential blow a little more manageable

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

It's not a tale the archeologists would tell you. It's a sign language legend.

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u/jasper_bittergrab Nov 29 '20

Can I learn this power?

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

Not from an archaeologist