EthewaHistorical sign dictionary
Two historical books, read in context

Explore the books. Compare the accounts.

Search the English entry labels, read Seton and Clark side by side, and return to the original pages.

FROM YOUR SCANNED BOOKS

Reading the dictionary…

The original pages accompany each account.

Reading the books…

The sources

Title page of Seton’s Sign Talk
ERNEST THOMPSON SETON

Sign Talk of the Cheyenne Indians and Other Cultures

Originally published in 1918. Your scan is the Dover edition, 2000.

Written descriptions with drawings, variants, and cross-references. Seton also includes signs from other systems and some proposed signs; his notes are retained.

Title page of Clark’s The Indian Sign Language
WILLIAM P. CLARK

The Indian Sign Language

Originally published in 1885.

Written accounts of gestures with usage notes and longer historical passages. The source wording is preserved in the transcription.

Illustration coverage

Illustration inventory is loading.

Handshape notation

Seton uses lettered and named handshapes in his descriptions. Consult his original chart while reading these accounts.

Reading these accounts

This dictionary compares two historical books. It does not establish one sign for every Native nation or certify present-day usage. Similar entry titles are a way to compare the authors’ accounts, rather than a claim that the signs are identical.

The books contain dated terminology and the authors’ interpretations. Automatic transcriptions can have reading errors; use the original page to check. A “Scan-checked passage” label applies to that displayed passage. Longer entries and comparison decisions may still need review.

Illustrations and text can help you study the recorded gestures. Learning current signing benefits from guidance by knowledgeable Indigenous signers.

Original page

Signer means the person making the sign; viewer means the person looking at it. The source image keeps its original orientation. Follow the author’s left and right wording; the drawing may show a different viewpoint.

Original illustration

Signer means the person making the sign; viewer means the person looking at it. The source image keeps its original orientation. Follow the author’s left and right wording; the drawing may show a different viewpoint.