Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism!
As we celebrate another Deaf History Month, I am reflecting on the excitement I felt experiencing American Sign Language (ASL) highlighted in Super Bowl LVII. The unique and creative rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” by Troy Kotsur, the first ever ASL performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by Justina Miles, and of course, her history-making and now viral performance during the halftime show. Undeniably, all of the performances were epic, but a question arises from the limited press that the first Native American deaf performer, Colin Denny, received.
There is no denying the tremendous impact of Troy Kotsur and Justina Miles’s performances, and no surprise at the vast amount of press they received, but where was the spotlight on Colin Denny? We can celebrate the amplification of the beauty of ASL at the Super Bowl and simultaneously hold America and mainstream media accountable for their lack of focus on the equally historic performance of the first Native American Deaf performer at the Super Bowl.
There is a clear correlation between the limited recognition of a Native Deaf American performer and Native Sign Language and America’s same limited acknowledgment of Native American history, culture, and identity as a whole. Is this not the modus operandi in the way that America has dealt with all things Native American? The lack of attention given to Colin Denny and his historic performance during the halftime show demonstrates the systemic historical, cultural, and linguistic genocide of Native Americans at the hands of America. Denny deserves to be acknowledged, recognized, and celebrated for his representation of Native American history and culture and his effort to raise awareness about not only ASL but Native American Sign Languages. Unfortunately, the way Denny was overlooked coincides with a lack of education on the contributions of Native American Deaf individuals and Native American Sign Languages in Deaf history as well. Deaf History Month offers a chance to do better. This month (and every month), we can learn about and celebrate Native American contributions to Deaf history and culture.
Who is Colin Denny?
In “U of A Researcher to Interpret ‘America the Beautiful’ in Native Sign at Super Bowl,” Kathryn Palmer gives an introduction to Colin Denny. He is a 32-year-old research assistant at the University of Arizona. He used a mix of ASL and Native American Sign Language in his Super Bowl performance of “America the Beautiful.”
Denny’s presence at Super Bowl LVII was a groundbreaking representation of young Native Americans who are promoting Indigenous history and culture while striving to preserve Native Sign Language systems. Denny’s personal history explains his journey to represent Indigenous culture. Denny comes from a family of educators. His parents teach the Navajo language. Imperative to understanding Denny’s passion is learning more about the history of Native American Sign Language.
History of Native American Sign Language
The history of Native American Sign Language predates ASL. Melanie McKay-Cody, an assistant professor in the Department of Disabilities and Psychoeducational Studies at the University of Arizona, told the University of Arizona News, “Many regional sign languages were lost during colonization when Native children were sent to boarding schools and deaf residential schools and forced to use English or American Sign Language – a form of linguistic genocide.”
Without the study of sign language systems that predate ASL, there can be no comprehensive study of American Deaf history. Deaf Native American history is integral to the study of American Deaf history.
In “Native American sign language arrives at the Super Bowl,” Amanda Morris talks about “Native American sign language, which thrived for centuries but is fading from collective memory.” Not only is the language fading from collective memory, but Native American History appears to be as well. It is important to understand that ASL was not the first sign language system in America. Without the implementation and addition of the study of Native American Sign Language in ASL or Deaf History courses, this fact will remain ignored. Denny’s performance was pivotal in showcasing not only ASL but “… Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL), which was once so common across the Great Plains that it was a “lingua franca,” a language used by both Deaf and hearing people to communicate between tribes that didn’t share the same spoken language.” This important linguistic history is imperative to the study of American history. Once this history is highlighted, then true representation of the entirety of the history of Deaf individuals in America can be accomplished. Colin Denny represents all that is beautiful about representing Indigenous culture.
Representation of Native American History, Culture, and Language
The media continues to either ignore Native Americans when it comes to increasing BIPOC representation or further perpetuate stereotypes. This lack of representation also contributes to the lack of acknowledging the influence of the history and language on American Deaf Culture and ASL.
Denny critiqued the lack of Native American representation in American media. “‘I feel like you never see the indigenous community represented, but we are still here,’ Denny signed in ASL. ‘We are still here, but our language hasn’t been preserved everywhere. We have to preserve it at some point, and we should start now.'” His performance was an effort to ensure America did not forget the contributions of Indigenous people and their sign language systems that predate ASL. McKay-Cody said to the Post, “North American Indian Sign Language is often not credited for the role it played in shaping ASL, and has not been recognized by many as a language in its own right.” The lack of recognition and representation has a clear implication on America’s tendency to diminish the impact and worth of the influence of Native American history, culture, and language on American Deaf Culture and ASL.
In the same way, many have now begun to acknowledge the importance of dialects within ASL, like Black American Sign Language (BASL), Denny and others are fighting for the recognition of North American Indian Sign Language. “A lot of people aren’t aware of the language and that it has always been here, even if we don’t see it,” Denny argues. “That’s something that I feel needs national recognition and revitalization for the community.” As a researcher, Denny hopes to amplify the significant role Indigenous Sign Languages played in the development of and variations of ASL. The study of both BASL and PISL are historically, culturally, and linguistically imperative to the study of ASL, Deaf culture, and Deaf history.
Ways We Can Do Better
As educators, we need to make sure to include multicultural and diverse representations of individuals, histories, and perspectives in our curriculum. As an American Sign Language teacher, I need to make sure that the students not only see representations in the Deaf community who look like them but that they learn about the histories and languages of people who are also diverse. This includes studying sign language systems and cultures that predate the history of ASL.
I also make sure that my students learn about different Deaf cultures from around the world. My students were blessed to go to school with a Deaf Colombian classmate who opened them up to a very unique and diverse Deaf culture. And since I have many students whose home language is Spanish, I make sure to introduce them to the world of trilingual interpreting, the skill of facilitating communication between three languages in real time. Truly understanding the uniqueness of ASL, American Deaf history, and American Deaf culture comes from a worldwide perspective of Deaf history, and that begins with studying about the language of the people who were the first inhabitants of the Americas. The contributions of Native Americans and their language can no longer be overlooked and ignored.
Celebrate Native American Culture Daily
Colin Denny’s historic performance at the Super Bowl offers a chance to discuss the lack of representation of Native American history in American history and the lack of the study of Native American Sign Languages in ASL courses. We must celebrate events like the first Native American Deaf performer at the Super Bowl. Does America need to do a mirror check on its historical, cultural, and linguistic biases? Can America break the accepted status quo of celebrating the tremendous impact of Native Americans only on holidays set aside to temporarily acknowledge them? This Deaf History Month, let’s strengthen the practice of acknowledging and celebrating Native American historical, cultural, and linguistic contributions to ASL and American Deaf culture. Further, maybe learning about Indigenous People on any given day could create the cultural shift we all claim to want to see in this broken system of education.
Editor’s Note: If you enjoyed this article, please become a Patreon supporter by clicking here.
