Background

In 7000 BC, when Native Americans started migrating all over North America, a lot of them went separate ways and as they all were in different environments and had different experiences, their languages all started to change and differ from each other. Although there were around 400 different languages spoken amongst them before the Americans moved further west, the Natives were unable to understand most languages besides their own tribes’.

Joinson, Carla, and Carla Joinson. “Indians, Insanity, and American History Blog.” Indians Insanity and American History Blog, 28 June 2012

They spoke amongst themselves only with their words which they used to pass down information. Natives also used rituals and sign language to communicate with each other. Sign language was especially used by the Great Plain Indian tribes when they were hunting and trying not to make noise. They used Plains Indians Sign Language to communicate with other tribes. Additionally, bird calls and smoke signals were used when they were unable to use their words because of distance.

They used pictography to convey certain ideas that were not always specific to their tribe and therefore could be used to communicate with others outside of their own tribe for reasons such as trading. Natives also traded children or used prisoners and trained them as translators so that tribes could communicate quicker over time. Evidently, Native Americans had multiple ways of communicating and found many ways to talk with people even when they did not speak the same language.

When Americans encountered the indigenous people, they profited from the different ways the tribes communicated with each other. They used similar ways to talk with the Native Americans and communicate effectively with them. Lewis and Clark were two famous explorers for Thomas Jefferson and to be able to communicate with Native Americans, they needed to have a translator further portraying that there were many ways to communicate with others despite there being a language barrier.

President Thomas Jefferson Confidential Message to Congress Concerning Relations with the Indians; 1/18/1803; President's Messages from the 7th Congress; Presidential Messages, 1791 - 1861; Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Record Group 233; National Archives Building, Washington, DC

Background

Different Forms of Communication and Origins of Contact